Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been languishing in a Russian jail since March of last year after his arrest on allegations of espionage. Soon after his detention the US formally designated him "wrongfully detained".
Former President Donald Trump in last night's debate with President Joe Biden hammered the administration on the lack of action on freeing the journalist. Trump vowed that if re-elected he would secure Gershkovich's release very quickly upon entering office.
"I will have him out very quickly, as soon as I take office, before I take office," Trump said from the CNN debate stage, and continued: "As soon as I win the election, I will have that reporter out."
Trump sought to paint a general picture of the world "laughing" at us, especially leaders like Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin. Trump also said the only way Biden has gotten Americans released from foreign prisons is by handing overseas despots billions of dollars upon their demanding it.
The Republican frontrunner specifically referenced $6 billion 'given' to gain the release of five detained Americans in Iran in 2023, in reference to freeing up frozen Iranian assets that had been held primarily in South Korea.
Trump claimed that Putin is now demanding "billions of dollars" for Gershkovich's release and that Putin "is laughing at this guy" - in reference to Biden.
This week, starting Wednesday, Gershkovich's trial began in secret in Ekaterinburg, which is the city some 900 miles away from Moscow where Russia's FSB arrested him last year. He appeared in court behind the typical defendant's glass cage.
Watch Trump go after Biden on the issue of the journalist's detention:
Trump says he will free WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich detained in Russia as soon as he wins election pic.twitter.com/boMelquqKt
— Horizon News (@Horizonnews07) June 28, 2024
WSJ's Editor in Chief Emma Tucker has stated: "This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man who would then face up to 20 years in prison for simply doing his job. And an excellent job he was doing, at that." Trump on Thursday night hailed him as a "good guy".
