Free Gershkovich

Without a free press there is no free society, and a country’s treatment of journalists – foreign and domestic – is as good a measure as any of the health of its democracy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed possible that Russia could, at last, become a place where the press was permitted to operate freely, a bulwark for Russians’ newfound liberties. Those hopes were dashed long ago. Under Vladimir Putin’s violent and repressive rule, journalists have been intimidated, arrested, censored and even murdered.

But the situation has deteriorated markedly since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The introduction of draconian new laws has resulted in the wholesale silencing of reporters and the departure of foreign news organisations, at a time when understanding the situation on the ground in Russia could hardly be more important.

There can be no greater symbol of this appalling clampdown than the case of the 32-year old Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who – as of today – has been behind bars in Russia for an entire year. He is awaiting trial for “espionage”. But Mr Gershkovich is not a spy. He is a journalist who has been imprisoned simply for carrying out his duties as an accredited foreign correspondent.

A court this week extended Mr Gershkovich’s detention by a further three months, the fifth such extension he has faced. Putin suggested earlier in the year that a prisoner swap could result in his release. But no journalist should be detained for doing their job in the first place. Journalism is not a crime. Russia should set Mr Gershkovich free immediately.