Family of WSJ reporter wrongfully detained in Russia speaks out: 'Nothing has been done'
Evan Gershkovich's parents joined 'FOX & Friends' to discuss their son's detainment and Biden's promise to them as they reflect on 250 days of him being in Russian custody.
The parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for 250 days, on Tuesday called for President Biden to make good on his promise and bring home their son.
"We had President Biden’s promise to do whatever it takes, to bring Evan back. He also told us that he relates to us as a parent, he feels our pain, and his words are in my ears every single day. But it’s been 250 days and Evan is not here," his mother, Ella Milman, told Steve Doocy on "FOX & Friends."
"The efforts to do whatever it takes hasn’t been done," Milman said.
Earlier this month, Gershovich suffered a setback when his pre-trial detention in Russia was extended into 2024.
RUSSIAN COURT EXTENDS DETENTION OF WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH
Evan Gershkovich's father Mikhail speaks about his son's plight on "FOX & Friends." (Fox News)
"It is hard to believe, it’s been 250 days too long. Evan already missed his birthday celebration, Thanksgiving, and the holidays that are coming up," his father Mikhail Gershkovich said.
Arrested in Yekaterinburg and detained since March 29 on spying charges, Gershovich will remain imprisoned until at least January 30, 2024. Russian authorities claim Gershkovich "acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."
The Biden administration has designated Gershkovich "wrongfully detained" and repeatedly called for his release, and both the U.S. government and the Wall Street Journal have called the spying charges absurd. It is widely believed the Russians detained the reporter to both suppress journalism in the country and pick up a bargaining chip in a future prisoner exchange.
Doocy told Milman she must "know" her son is not a spy, especially considering he worked in the newsroom a few floors above the "FOX & Friends" studio.
"We’re not spies, people are journalists," Doocy said. "But that’s the cover story to keep him in jail. It’s got to be heartbreaking that we, the United States, have not been able to spring him yet."
WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH HITS SIX MONTHS OF WRONGFUL DETAINMENT IN RUSSIA
President Joe Biden gestures as an image of US journalist Evan Gershkovich appears onscreen during the White House Correspondents Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, April 29, 2023. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Milman said she has not heard from Biden since the day he promised to bring her son home. She said she has been in touch with Roger Carstens, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, but they "don’t know anything about a real effort" to bring her son home.
"If they work as hard as President Biden promised us, and to this day nothing has been done. It’s been 250 days and this is very clear, Evan is an American journalist," Milman said. "He’s sitting in Lefortovo prison."
Gershkovich’s parents said she only knows whatever information is available to other Americans who are "interested in Evan’s case," but she wants the Biden administration to do more.
"We would like the U.S. government to do whatever it takes to bring Evan home," Milman said. "Evan is in Lefortovo prison. The prison designed to isolate and break you down."
The White House said it is working on bringing Gershkovich home.
"Evan’s family is going through something unimaginable. As we work to secure Evan’s release and the release of fellow American Paul Whelan, we are regularly in contact at senior levels with the Russian government about these cases. We have made multiple proposals, and we are constantly discussing this issue with third countries who can assist. Not a week goes by without intensive activity. We will not let up and will continue to pursue every avenue to bring them home," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Milman said her son is in a tough place but is doing whatever it takes to stay physically and mentally fit.
"Every day is like swimming against the stream, it takes a lot of effort and it’s been 250 days," she said.
Doocy then asked Mikhail Gershkovich what he would say to members of the Biden administration.
"That promise that the president made gave us a lot of solace, and hope, and strength, but after 250 days it’s getting very, very hard," Mikhail Gershkovich said. "We want the U.S. government to focus on bringing an American journalist back home."
Milman spoke directly to Biden and urged him to keep the promise.
"We’re still very hopeful and we are cheering on the U.S. government. Please bring, concentrate, he deserves it. He’s been there for 250 days, we want our son back," Milman said.
The mother of Evan Gershkovich, Ella Milman, speaks about her son's imprisonment in Russia on "FOX & Friends." (Fox News)
Gershkovich faces decades in prison if convicted on the spying charges in Russia's notoriously closed and corrupt justice system. Experts believe his best hope for freedom will be a prisoner swap with the United States.
Gershkovich's friends have told Fox News Digital he gets strength from the thousands of letters he's received in prison, many from total strangers, and is keeping his sense of humor despite the grim circumstances.
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"I think he's strong, he remains strong," The Guardian's Pjotr Sauer said. "He's still determined to prove his innocence. Eight months is hard for anyone, but Evan is staying remarkably healthy, mentally and physically. He exercises, he reads a lot, his spirits are still high."
This article was updated with a response from the White House.