While all of us as Americans celebrate that our fellow citizens have regained freedom , their lengthy imprisonments under the Russian regime have been a horrible injustice.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. A Russian court found him guilty of espionage, and in July, sentenced him to 16 years in prison. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government consistently maintained that the charges of espionage were preposterous and that Gershkovich was innocent .
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who faces charges of espionage, stands inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on July 19, 2024. Dmitry Chasovitin/Reuters
"I'm told everyone is doing all they can and that my release is a 'top priority.' But after five years, that sounds like my New Year's resolutions – quickly set aside and soon forgotten," Whelan told The Detroit News in December.
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Still, the Biden administration deserves credit for finally securing the Americans' return . And while their release took far too long, it's Putin's dictatorial Russian government that obviously is most at fault for imprisoning innocent Americans along with citizens of other countries.
Why have Americans been unjustly detained?
A mural honoring wrongfully detained Americans was unveiled in Washington, D.C., in 2022. One of those honored (at far right) is former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY
The release of Gershkovich, Whelan and the others demands celebration, but it also should prompt us to think about why the Russian government has been so emboldened that it repeatedly arrests Americans on false charges.
There is something wrong with American diplomacy and power when Russia can wrongfully arrest and sentence U.S. citizens to hard labor with impunity. It is a grave injustice that keeps happening and one that the United States appears powerless to stop.
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