FOX Nation debuted a new special "Prisoner of Putin" on Thursday, one day before the somber one-year anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s arrest and detainment by Russia on dubious espionage charges.
"Prisoner of Putin" provides an in-depth look into Gershkovich’s life and resilience while detained in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison on charges The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny.
Jeremy Berke, a close friend who met Gershkovich 15 years ago at Bowdoin College and is featured in the special, is part of a group of his closest friends who have been working to keep his story in the news. They believe he deserves to be looked at with empathy and sympathy, rather than as a political symbol.
"As friends, I think we can share maybe a little bit of a different perspective than his sister and his family can, even though they are some of the best advocates for him that we have. I think it's also useful to hear from people that know him in a different way, and that's what we can do, and we're going to continue doing that until he's home," Berke told Fox News Digital.
"We don't want this to fall by the wayside. There's a lot going on in the world. We don't want this to be some opaque international incident. We want this to be about our friend Evan, who is just such a great guy," he added. "Anyone who meets him realizes that in the first 30 seconds and everyone should want him home. Politics aside, it's an injustice what he's going through, and we should all fight to ensure a safe and swift return home."
Berke called the notion that he could be some sort of spy "ridiculous," as has the Wall Street Journal and the Biden administration. Gershkovich, the son of Soviet immigrants who moved to the United States before he was born, has always had a special appreciation for his parents' home country, lending a cruel irony to Russia now separating him from his loved ones. He was arrested on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg last March 29.
"Evan is an accredited journalist. He was there with the permission of the Russian government, and he was a very good reporter," Berke said. "That is what I don't want to get lost. He really had a mission to expose the truth in Russia, but not as an enemy of the Russian state or the Russian people. Like, he really loved Russia. He loved living there. He loved getting in touch with his own culture and getting better at his own language."
"He was there to try and do what he could to, I think, help people in Russia and help us here at home understand Russia. The espionage charges are completely trumped up, they're completely ridiculous," he continued. "It's befuddling to me how, you know, when you see communication from the Kremlin that they seem to continue to believe that."
DETAINED WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH'S COLLEAGUES SPEAK OUT ON HIS PASSION FOR JOURNALISM, RUSSIA
Gershkovich's friend Sam Silverman, Fox News Channel senior correspondent Steve Harrigan, who was formerly based in Moscow, and Wall Street Journal colleagues Gordon Fairclough and Paul Beckett also contributed to "Prisoner of Putin."
On Tuesday, a Russian court extended his detention and Gershkovich will remain in custody until at least June 30. Ambassador Lynne Tracy attended the court hearing and reiterated that "the accusations against Evan are categorically untrue."
Berke, who lived with Gershkovich in a Crown Heights apartment for nearly two years, won’t stop beating the drum until his friend comes home.
"Evan truly is one of my favorite friends and one of the people that I've always felt very simpatico with, on a lot of things. So, it's been hard… for a long time now," Berke said.
WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH TURNS 32 WHILE WRONGFULLY DETAINED BY RUSSIA
Beckett, who pivoted from overseeing the Washington bureau to focusing solely on securing the release of Gershkovich, wants the one-year mark to be "the last milestone that he serves behind bars."
"It is our job to keep awareness of Evan and his plight as high as we possibly can. You know, hopefully this will be solved soon and will be solved through government-to-government negotiations. But we're convinced that if he is forgotten, or we don't keep him in the spotlight, then that would just make it all the harder," Beckett told Fox News Digital.
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Berke, Beckett and others discuss Gershkovich's plight in "Prisoner of Putin," which is streaming now.
Anyone interested in learning more about Gershkovich can visit WSJ.com/evan and FreeGershkovich.com.
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