Biden says he is working to secure release of Evan Gershkovich on 1-year anniversary of detention in Russia

President Biden said Friday, on the one-year anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's detention in Russia, that the U.S. government is working every day to secure his release and is "not giving up."

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on espionage charges for allegedly collecting secret military information while he was on a work trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The Federal Security Service said he was acting on U.S. orders to obtain state secrets, but no evidence was provided to support the accusation.

The U.S. government, The Wall Street Journal and Gershkovich all reject accusations that he was working for the U.S. government to collect Russian secrets, with U.S. officials saying he was wrongfully detained.

"Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter —risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine," Biden said in a statement Friday. "Shortly after his wholly unjust and illegal detention, he drafted a letter to his family from prison, writing: 'I am not losing hope.'"

WALL STREET JOURNAL LEAVES FRONT PAGE PORTION BLANK IN HONOR OF EVAN GERSHKOVICH: 'HIS STORY SHOULD BE HERE'

"As I have told Evan's parents, I will never give up hope either," he continued. "We will continue working every day to secure his release. We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists — the pillars of free society."

The Wall Street Journal on Friday left a blank space on the front page of its newspaper with Gershkovich's image in the space where the image of an article's