‘Journalism is not a crime’: Joe Biden backs Evan Gershkovich, US journalist jailed in Russia for a year

US President Joe Biden said he is working “every day” to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich, a jailed Wall Street Journal reporter he said is being held by Russia as a “bargaining chip”, as he marked one year behind bars.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, became thefirst US journalist arrested on spying charges inRussia since the Cold War when he was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) last March during a reporting trip in city of Yekaterinburg.

Despite being a fully accredited journalist, he was accused of spying for the US Russian authorities, which he, the Wall Street Journal and the US government vociferously deny.

His plight has sparked global uproar, concerns about collapsing press freedoms in Russia and was even raised by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Thursday who called for the world to pray for him over the Easter weekend.

“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,” Mr Biden said in a statement, vowing to work on the freedom of Evan and other US citizens locked up in Russia.

He added: “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.”

Mr Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War

No one knows exactly how many US citizens are being held in Russia. Another American accused of espionage is Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan who was arrested in 2018. He was sentenced two years later to 16 years in prison, on charges he also denies.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken