While the friends and family of Evan Gershkovich celebrated his safe return, so too did his work family at the Wall Street Journal. So for them, Thursday night was also an emotional moment.
“Extraordinary smiles, joy, tears of relief, exhilaration, excitement. All at the same time. And that was just in the general newsroom,” said Paul Beckett, assistant editor for The Wall Street Journal. “Who knows what it was like for Evan and his family to be there. We weren’t sure up until the moment we knew his feet were on the tarmac in Ankara and he was out of the custody of Russian officials that he was free.”
Beckett has been among the loudest and strongest voices calling for Gershkovich’s release from day one, insisting that he was wrongfully imprisoned and defending his journalistic integrity.
“Part of the reason he was taken and they chose him, I think, was not just because a high profile American, but because it had a chilling effect on other news outlets and on reporting the news in Russia, which I think is exactly what the Kremlin wanted,” said Beckett. “They knew perfectly well he’s not a spy. That became very clear over the course of their farcical trial. I think the U. S. government’s goal now is going to be work with the allies to find a way to stop this detestable practice of hostage diplomacy. Find a way to stop this cycle which affects journalists and everyone else when they get nabbed for no reason and then treated as pawns.”
Beckett says they are now waiting to see whether Russian President Vladimir Putin responds to Gershkovich’s parting request for an interview. As part of his release from the Russian prison, Gershkovich was required to write a formal letter to Putin. He is reported to have left that part of the form blank, except to ask for an interview.
