Russia Rejects US Proposal for Release of 2 ‘Wrongfully Detained’ Americans

Left: Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich in an undated photo. (The Wall Street Journal via AP). Right: Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, stands behind bars as he waits for a hearing in a courtroom in Moscow on Aug. 23, 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

The United States said on Dec. 5 that a “significant proposal” to secure the release of two “wrongfully detained” Americans, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, has been rejected by Russia.

Mr. Gershkovich is a Wall Street Journal reporter, and Mr. Whelan is a former U.S. Marine who worked as a corporate security executive in Michigan. Both were detained in Russia on espionage charges.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Dec. 5 that “a new and significant proposal” was made in recent weeks to secure their release, but Russia refused to accept it.

While Mr. Miller declined to provide specifics about the proposal, he stated that it was intended to secure only the release of Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich, and not any other detainees.

“That proposal was rejected by Russia. [We] shouldn’t have to make these proposals; they never should have been arrested in the first place. They should both be released immediately,“ Mr. Miller said. “But we have made a number of proposals ... including a substantial one in recent weeks. ”

He said the Biden administration would continue “to do everything [the administration] can to try and bring both of them home,” including discussing the issue with allies who can help secure their release.

“Not a week goes by without intense activity to bring Paul and Evan home,” he said.

Mr. Whelan holds U.S., British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship. After a bad-conduct discharge from the Marine Corps in 2008, he went to work as a corporate security executive for a Michigan-based international auto parts manufacturer.

He was traveling in Moscow in December 2018 when he was detained by Russian authorities on espionage charges, which he denies. Mr. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted in a Russian court in July 2020.

Mr. Gershkovich has been in detention since the end of March, when he was apprehended in Yekaterinburg, almost 1,200 miles east of Moscow, while on a reporting assignment.

He faces allegations of espionage on behalf of the United States, specifically that he allegedly “collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

Both Mr. Gershkovich and his employer have vehemently denied the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared his detention wrongful. Russian authorities have yet to provide concrete evidence to support the espionage charges.

Alsu Kurmasheva’s Case

When asked about the release of Alsu Kurmasheva—a Russian American journalist who was detained in Russia for failing to register as an agent of a foreign government—Mr. Miller said that Washington is closely monitoring her case.

“We remain deeply concerned about the extension of her pre-trial detention. We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens who have been detained overseas, and we will continue to do so,” he added.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, accused of violating Russia's law on foreign agents, talks to her lawyer Edgar Matevosyan as they attend a court hearing in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 23, 2023. Alexey Nasyrov/Reuters

Ms. Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been detained since June and was formally arrested and charged in October with failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. Her pre-trial detention has been extended until February.

A coalition of 14 press freedom and First Amendment civil society groups, led by the National Press Club, has urged the Biden administration to designate Ms. Kurmasheva as a wrongfully detained U.S. citizen.

“Our understanding is that Russia has not officially notified the State Department of her detention—however, the U.S. should not delay its own process due to what appears to be a stalling tactic,” the coalition stated in a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Nov. 28.

“We are deeply concerned this has resulted in Alsu not receiving any regular consular visits yet.”

They urged Washington to change “outmoded requirements” on designating wrongful detentions “so that the State Department has the authority to quickly declare a detention is unjust when a journalist is taken.”

Caden Pearson and Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.