Detained reporter Evan Gershkovich’s Philly-based parents will attend Biden’s State of the Union address

The Philadelphia-based parents of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia last March, will attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this week.

Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, who live in Fishtown, will attend the event as guests of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), the Wall Street Journal reports. In a statement, Johnson told the publication that hosting Gershkovich’s parents for the State of the Union speech will “shine a spotlight on the unjust detention of their son.”

“The United States must always stand for freedom of the press around the world, especially in places like Russia, where it is under assault,” Johnson said. “The administration must bring Evan home.”

Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, on espionage charges late last March while he was on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, a city roughly 1,100 miles east of Moscow. Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged that Gershkovich was acting as a spy for the United States, collecting information about Russian military activity.

Gershkovich’s lawyers and the Wall Street Journal have vehemently denied those the allegations, and the U.S. Department of State has said that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained.”

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich’s parents said that they were grateful to “highlight Evan’s wrongful detention” by appearing at Thursday’s State of the Union. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is also scheduled to attend.

“We’re also grateful to President Biden for his continued work on Evan’s behalf,” his parents’ statement read. “Evan is an American, and he was doing his job as a journalist. He is most importantly a beloved son and brother, and we want him home.”

Gershkovich’s parents fled the Soviet Union separately in 1979, and later met while working in New York. The pair moved to New Jersey, where Gershkovich was born and raised alongside his sister, Danielle. His interest in Russia was sparked as a child, with Gershkovich’s parents teaching him the Russian language and traditions when he was young, and the family taking a trip to the country in 1999.

At the time of his arrest, Gershkovich had lived and worked as a reporter in Russia for six years. He started working at the Wall Street Journal in January 2022, just one month before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Gershkovich has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Last month, a Moscow court denied an effort to appeal Gershkovich’s detention, according to a statement from U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy.

As a result, the Associated Press reported, Gershkovich will remain detained until at least the end of the month, marking more than a year since his arrest.

In a recent interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that although he believes Gershkovich was working as a spy, returning him to the U.S. was not off the table.

“We are willing to solve it, but there are certain terms being discussed via special services channels,” Putin said. “I believe an agreement can be reached.”