One year after US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, President Joe Biden warned Russia that there will be consequences for its "appalling attempts" to use Americans as bargaining chips.
Mr Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 29 March last year.
"As I have told Evan's parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his release," Mr Biden said in a statement released by the White House that called the journalist's detention "wholly unjust and illegal."
"We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia's appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips," the US leader added.
As the US government has declared that Mr Gershkovich is wrongfully detained, it effectively regards him as a political hostage. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, claims that Mr Gershkovich tried to obtain military secrets.
He has now spent a year at Moscow's high-security Lefortovo prison, which is closely associated with the FSB, and his detention has been extended to 30 June.
The Kremlin said this week that complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Mr Gershkovich. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated his openness to a swap.
Congressional leaders condemn detention
Top congressional leaders from both US parties, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, issued a joint statement calling the journalist's arrest baseless and unjust.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Mr Gershkovich's arrest had made Russia's already restrictive media landscape "more oppressive."
In their statements today, the US president and Mr Blinken also condemned the detention of Paul Whelan, an ex-Marine arrested in Moscow in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on spying charges in 2020. He and the US government maintain his innocence.
"To Evan, to Paul Whelan, and to all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad: We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring you home," Mr Biden said.
'We are still standing strong'
The reporter's family has vowed to continue fighting for his release, saying his innocence gives him courage in the face of the ordeal.
"We never anticipated this situation happening to our son and brother, let alone a full year with no certainty or clear path forward," his family said in a letter to the readers of the Wall Street Journal.
"But despite this long battle, we are still standing strong."
In their letter, Mr Gershkovich's parents, Mikhail and Ella, and sister Danielle described the past year as "unimaginable".
"It has felt like holding our breath," the family wrote. "We have been living with a constant ache in our hearts thinking about Evan every moment of every day."
The family thanked the US government, the Wall Street Journal, Mr Gershkovich's friends and well-wishers for working towards his release and for their support.
"Throughout all the challenges in this tumultuous time we've watched as Evan has faced this uncertainty, stuck in a small cell, with limited news of the world, without his freedom."
Washington has accused Moscow of arresting US citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.
Regular courtroom appearance
Over the past year, the family has watched footage and photographs from a Moscow court where Mr Gershkovich appeared every few weeks to have his pre-trial detention extended continually.
"We have watched him face this with his head held high because he is innocent," the family wrote in their letter.
"He inspires us to keep going every day, especially on those days where we receive his letters and see his smile from the courtroom camera."
Most recently on Tuesday, the court in Moscow ruled that Mr Gershkovich would remain in detention until late June.
At Moscow's Lefortovo prison, the reporter shares a small cell with another inmate.
He gets an hour-long walk in a small prison yard every day, tries to stay fit through exercise and relies on fruit and vegetables sent by friends to supplement the meager prison diet.
"We will continue fighting for Evan's freedom, whatever it takes," the family's letter said.
