Welcome home, Evan
I released the following statement today regarding the news of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s release from imprisonment in Russia:
We at the Atlantic Council are overjoyed and relieved that Evan has been released after 491 days of wrongful imprisonment in Russia. This is a great day for Evan, his family, and his colleagues at the Wall Street Journal, who worked tirelessly to secure his release. However, it doesn’t diminish our need to speak out against Russia’s crimes not only against Evan but against free speech more broadly.
As Almar Latour, Wall Street Journal publisher and Dow Jones CEO, said at the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Leadership Awards in May 2023, “Evan’s arrest is a symbolic reminder of the fight that we find ourselves in today. It’s autocrats versus the power of the pen—disinformation versus reliable information as the bedrock of free society.”
Latour’s point was underscored by those released with Evan: two other Americans wrongfully detained—journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and former US Marine Paul Whelan—as well as Russian political dissident and Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza, among others. In exchange, a contemptible lot, including a convicted murderer and several hackers and spies, was welcomed back to Russia by President Vladimir Putin.
Watch Latour’s full speech below:
Evan’s resilience and steadfastness are testament to the courage of journalists worldwide who take risks every day in service to freer societies. In partnership with Adrienne Arsht, the Atlantic Council has been proud to champion Evan’s cause through our “Reporters at Risk” series, which highlights those dangers and underscores the importance of supporting their critical work.
The Atlantic Council remains committed to press freedom and defending the safety of reporters at risk like Evan. As a twenty-five-year veteran of the Wall Street Journal, I welcome him home as a colleague. On behalf of the Atlantic Council, we commit ourselves to defending the freedoms he and reporters like him around the world represent.
Frederick Kempe is president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council. You can follow him on Twitter: @FredKempe.
This edition is part of Frederick Kempe’s Inflection Points Today newsletter, a column of quick-hit insights on a world in transition. To receive this newsletter throughout the week, sign up here.
Further reading
Thu, Aug 1, 2024
Experts react: What to know about the release of Evan Gershkovich and others held by Russia
New Atlanticist By
A prisoner swap has freed American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian political dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza and llya Yashin, among others.
Sat, May 18, 2024
‘There are Evans everywhere’
Inflection Points Today By Frederick Kempe
The long-sought release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russia’s dreaded Lefortovo Prison matters “on a macro level.”
Fri, Feb 2, 2024
Russia Tomorrow: Five scenarios for Russia’s future
Russia Tomorrow By
A new Atlantic Council report explores five paths that Russia future might take in its future. What forces will shape Russia’s future?
Image: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, who were detained in Russia, pose with others aboard an aircraft after they were released, in this undated handout photograph obtained on August 1, 2024. U.S. Government/Handout via REUTERS