The War Against the Press
A conversation with the Committee to Protect Journalists' Gulnoza Said on Russia's wrongful arrest of Evan Gershkovich and the alarming increase in the killing and jailing of journalists worldwide.
By Michael Judge
As a journalist with 30 years’ experience—much of that time with The Wall Street Journal, and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the Journal’s Hong Kong bureau—I’ve taken a special interest in Evan Gershkovich’s March 29 arrest by Russian authorities on charges of “spying” while reporting from the Journal’s Moscow bureau. The 31-year-old Gershkovich, who’s jailed in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo prison, is the first U.S. journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War.
As the Journal reported on April 5, “Lefortovo . . . has held high-profile inmates including Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, several 1991 coup plotters against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.” Journal sources describe the prison as “a sterile facility engineered to keep inmates from ever seeing one another, an isolation that makes Lefortovo hard to endure.”
President Joe Biden this week called the reporter’s detention “totally illegal.” And the U.S State Department has designated Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained,” which makes him the equivalent of a political hostage. Sadly, this is just the latest in a series of injustices and atrocities perpetrated by the Putin regime since the Russian dictator launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Aeschylus tells us, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” And it follows then that those who seek the truth are often targeted with impunity. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, last year was one of the deadliest on record for journalists, with killings increasing by nearly 50% from 2021. And, perhaps not surprisingly, there are more jailed journalists in Russia today than at any time since the CPJ began keeping records in 1992.
Knowing that Evan Gershkovich is by no means alone, I reached out to Gulnoza Said, head of the CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program, whose career I’ve followed and respected for years. Born in Uzbekistan, Said is a journalist and press freedom advocate with more than 20 years of experience in New York, Prague, Bratislava, and Tashkent. In a recent statement, she clarified what’s at stake with the illegal arrest and imprisonment of a WSJ reporter in Moscow: “By detaining the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, Russia has crossed the Rubicon and sent a clear message to foreign correspondents that they will not be spared from the ongoing purge of the independent media in the country. Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Gershkovich, drop all charges against him, and let the media work freely and without fear of reprisal.”
I reached Said at her office in New York on the same day Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, successor to the Soviet-era KGB. She was generous with her time and, as always, an unflinching advocate for journalists around the globe.
MJ: First, I just want to say thank you for finding the time to talk. I know you’re extremely busy.
GS: Of course, it’s my pleasure.
I was hoping we could discuss Russia’s March 29 arrest of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, and then touch on broader threats to the press worldwide, and maybe a bit about how you got involved with CPJ.
Sure.
You’ve made it clear that Russia’s arrest of Gershkovich is a message to foreign correspondents that “they will not be spared from the ongoing purge of the independent media in the country.” How has Russia’s purge of independent media increased recently, since the war in Ukraine began?
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a lot of Russian journalists have fled the country. We’ve also documented the highest number of jailed journalists in Russia, ever since we started keeping records in 1992. When we conducted our last prison census of journalists detained or jailed in direct retaliation for their work, in December, we knew of 19 cases of journalists, including Ukrainian journalists, who were held in Russian jails. As I said, that’s the highest number. We also are aware of hundreds of Russian journalists who fled Russia in the past 12 or 13 months. This is the biggest crackdown on the media in Russia since Russia became independent and Vladimir Putin came to power.
Now, when it comes to foreign press, the media outlets that are based in Russia, that have correspondents there, they were very concerned soon after the full-scale invasion started, and Russia was amending its local legislation, making it practically illegal to even use the word “war” in regard to the conflict in Ukraine, and criminalizing journalism. A lot of media outlets reached out to us and asked how this new legislation is going to play out for them, whether they should keep their journalists in country or not. Some outlets pulled their correspondents from Russia, and some of those journalists went back and decided to continue working.
And until the case of Evan Gershkovich, I think there was some hope that, even if the repression goes beyond local journalists, the reasons for the national authorities to expel foreign journalists would be more technical or formal. For example, an accreditation wouldn’t be renewed, or a visa would be denied, or the authorities would make it very difficult for spouses or children to go to school and whatnot. So, then, the journalist would be forced to leave Russia or wouldn’t be able to return if they were on a trip elsewhere. But the espionage charges against Gershkovich surprised me because this is the first espionage case of a U.S. journalist in Russia since the Cold War. And it’s very concerning because after this, I think everybody understands that no one is immune in this situation.
And the fact that they’re holding him in Lefortovo, a notorious prison, is also a clear message, it seems to me, that, like you said, they’re not just going to make it difficult for foreign journalists, they’re going to target foreign journalists.
Exactly. And it is journalists who represent the countries that have been supportive of Ukraine, that have provided aid to Ukraine, and that have been very outspoken in their criticism of the Russian actions against Ukraine. Basically, it’s mostly liberal democracies, countries like the United States, the U.K., and other Western European countries, Central and Eastern European countries as well, because they have also been very supportive of Ukraine.
When we look at the list of foreign journalists who still have accreditation in Russia, we see quite a few journalists from other countries that have maintained, more or less, a neutral position or have been supportive and have good relations with Russia—journalists from countries like Belarus or Armenia, all the way to China, Vietnam, and such. But I think foreign correspondents representing Western European and North American countries are even more at risk now.
Thirteen months after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it’s pretty safe to say that Russian authorities have succeeded in eliminating the independent press domestically.
Putin has been targeting Russian journalists for decades. I know you’re very familiar with the death of Anatoly Levin-Utkin, and, of course, Anna Politkovskaya, which sent a message to the domestic press that, if you challenge the so-called truth that Putin is broadcasting, you will be taken down. Or if you investigate corruption or criminal offenses of people in power, you will be disappeared. I’m wondering, how do you measure the degree of efficacy of the Russian press, its ability to report the truth? And what the consequences are for them if they do?
Look, by now, 13 months after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it’s pretty safe to say that Russian authorities have succeeded in eliminating the independent press domestically because anyone still able to report independently on Russia and in the Russian language is based in exile, outside Russia. There are, of course, still a few journalists—brave people who remain in Russia—and they are collaborating with exile media outlets. But they have to do it under constant risk of prosecution. It’s very dangerous to be a journalist in Russia because very often, the cases of Russian journalists in detention don’t get enough attention, especially inside Russia because Russian authorities have tried to block all the avenues for the Russian general public to get information freely. If you are an ordinary Russian in Russia, you have to have a VPN connection to access Russian language exile media outlets, and to get information about the real situation in Russia and the real situation on the frontlines in Ukraine.
What’s astonishing is that—despite horrendous casualties—millions of Russians still support this war, largely due to propaganda and lack of access to information that would help them understand its criminality. This seems to me to get to the heart of why the free press is so important, because once it’s eliminated and there is no independent press, the government in power has carte blanche, essentially.
That’s right, yes. Two things: First, any information about what part of the Russian population supports the war is very anecdotal because there are no independent polls or surveys. Second, the worst thing about propaganda is that it works, at least in regard to a certain part of the Russian population, especially the elderly or middle-aged who are used to getting their information from TV. That’s why, in the initial years of Putin’s rule, he established tight control over television broadcasting in general, starting with Channel One, the main state-controlled federal television channel, all the way down to much smaller, local TV stations.
It’s interesting. I interviewed Garry Kasparov back in 2017 about the power of Russian propaganda and fake news, and he said that, “The methodology of fake news isn’t to convince anyone exactly what the truth is, but to make people doubt that the truth exists or that it can ever be known.” And that this kind of Russian disinformation campaign is spreading globally, and these techniques are being used in other countries. So, it’s not as if they have to control every message, but through social media and broadcasts, they can cast doubt on anything that is reported on. Is that accurate to say?
I agree with that. I mean, the Russian officials and propagandists would identify different priorities. The ultimate priority is, obviously, to convince Russians, for example, that they’re fighting a Nazi regime in Ukraine. And also, not just Ukraine, but the whole West. Because what their propaganda says is that it’s not just Ukraine they’re fighting; it’s the “Anglo-Saxon coalition,” meaning the U.S., the U.K., Western European countries, Germany and such, and the NATO member countries, in general.
And the second priority, if they cannot achieve the first one, is to sow doubt and suspicion. And that’s what we’ve seen in the case of Evan Gershkovich. I have been monitoring Russian state media on their coverage of Evan’s case, and it’s just... Well, it’s not surprising for me because I have a professional interest in this and experience, but at the same time, it’s horrendous to see all those messages they’re trying to get across—that Evan Gershkovich is a “spy,” that he was receiving a “huge paycheck,” that he was detained in an “expensive restaurant” in Yekaterinburg, and so on and so forth.
So, if you’re an ordinary Russian, first of all, you’re going to start believing that, “Hey, Russia is great. Our law enforcement are great because they caught this spy, the enemy of our people.” And second of all, even if they have doubts, they are going to be super careful next time they see a journalist, even with a press card and accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, because they’re going to think, “Hey, that guy who went to Yekaterinburg and talked to local people turned out to be a spy. I’ll be better off if I don’t talk to anybody.” And that’s the worst impact because it’s not people outside of Russia who want to have a glimpse at the real situation inside the country from journalists like Evan Gershkovich, but also the Russian people for whom there are fewer and fewer ways to be heard through journalists, and to talk to them, and to tell them whatever they think about the war or the economic situation, the social situation, and so on and so forth. And that is also one of the goals of the Kremlin in silencing journalists like Evan.
If an average Russian citizen went on social media or Google and typed in “Evan Gershkovich” and “news” what would happen?
Well, if you’re inside Russia, and you don’t use a VPN connection, and you type Evan Gershkovich into, let’s say, Yandex.ru, which is their search engine, similar to Google in the West, you will get a lot of articles by state media, state-controlled media and pro-Kremlin media. You’ll get the raw facts. For example, when Gershkovich was detained or what he was doing, what media outlet he was working for, and what the charges are. But then there is a lot of propaganda in the form of statements by high-level government officials at the Foreign Ministry and Kremlin speaking about Gershkovich as if it was already proven that he’s a spy, as if there is no presumption of innocence guaranteed by the Russian Constitution. When officials at that level speak with so much confidence and certainty then a lot of Russians are going to believe what they’re saying.
The past two decades have been horrible for Russian journalists. According to CPJ data, 82 journalists and media workers were killed in Russia between 1992 and 2023. Putin’s assault on the press is clear and well-documented. But the assaults on the press aren’t just in Russia. The CPJ reports that 2022 was a deadly year for journalists as killings rose sharply.
That’s right.
According to your organization, at least 67 journalists and media workers were killed during the year, the highest number since 2018, and an almost 50% increase from 2021. CPJ says that was driven by a high number of journalists killed covering the war in Ukraine, but also a sharp rise in killings in Latin America. Can you talk about the climate for journalists, not just in Europe, but elsewhere, and why you think it might be worsening?
Absolutely. You gave the statistics. Our research shows that the increase from 2021 was almost 50%. And as you know, murders are the ultimate form of censorship. That’s the surest way to silence a journalist. And the situation in Ukraine, where we documented at least 15 journalists being killed while they were reporting or news-gathering. But there were high numbers elsewhere. For example, 13 cases in Mexico and seven in Haiti, which is the highest yearly numbers CPJ has ever recorded for those countries. Latin America was the deadliest region for the press: 30 journalists killed, which is almost half of the global total. What we see is that, most of the time, it’s local correspondents who are targeted. They cover politics, crime, corruption. There were also killings of journalists who covered the environment. In many cases it is the authorities. But we also have recorded cases where journalists were targeted by criminal groups and other non-state actors.
After killings, imprisonment is the second surest way to silence journalists. Sadly, the number of imprisoned journalists last year—363—was also the highest since we started keeping records in 1992. I already mentioned Russia, where we recorded the highest number ever—19 journalists—including Ukrainian journalists from Crimea. But also, in my region of Europe and Central Asia, Turkey has seen a very high number of jail journalists. And that is very important because most of those who were detained last year were Kurdish journalists, and you know about the crackdown of the authorities on Kurds. So, 40 journalists were in jail, in general, in Turkey, and most of them are in jail on anti-state charges: terrorism, for example.
I want to mention one case, specifically. When we were researching all these cases in Turkey, we managed to organize a visit to Bakırköy Prison in Istanbul to meet with the world’s longest-imprisoned woman journalist. Her name is Hatice Duman, and she’s been serving a life sentence for the past 20 years. And right now, there is a retrial. But when our Turkey representative went to the hearings they were conducted in a very formal, very technical way. Nobody really seemed to care about the case that started 20 years ago, although we were talking about a woman who was in her late 20s when she was jailed, and now she’s 50. Practically all her life is gone, in jail. Yet she continues writing her commentary from her prison cell, and her commentary is published in a Turkish media outlet. She’s worked for all these years. It’s just one of those remarkable cases. And, of course, if we talk about other countries, Belarus remains one of the biggest jailers of journalists. At least 26 journalists were behind bars on Dec. 1, 2022, when we conducted our most recent prison census. But we have documented more cases this year.
They’re also targeting bloggers or people who are not, traditionally, what we would call a journalist or someone accredited. There are some famous cases of bloggers being imprisoned as well, right?
That’s right. And we, at CPJ, intentionally use a very blanket term when we refer to journalists. We include bloggers in our definition of journalists, and we also are aware of the different context that these bloggers or journalists work in in different countries. For example, if you are in Russia, Telegram, the messaging app, could be your platform to exchange information or to publish news and commentary. Because we have correspondents and representatives around the world, we are aware of those differences, and we defend many bloggers, people who use different platforms. In some countries, it could be just Facebook because there are no other platforms, and we continue defending them as well.
There’s a very prominent case in Belarus involving the Telegram channel Nexta. It was instrumental in covering anti-government protests in 2020, following the contested presidential elections. And when the Lukashenko regime wanted to silence them, they went to great lengths. They even forced a plane to land in Belarus in order to detain one of the bloggers who ran Nexta, 27-year-old Roman Protasevich, who is still in detention in Belarus.
I encourage U.S. government officials to continue putting pressure on those governments across Central Asia and in the former Soviet Union and in the Balkans and such, because when U.S. officials speak about defending press freedom and protecting journalists, officials in those countries listen.
Last summer I interviewed the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina. What’s shocking is that Russian forces aren’t just targeting journalists, they’re targeting poets, writers, and artists as well, and in some cases libraries and museums, people and places that preserve Ukrainian culture.
That’s right. And we, the Committee to Protect Journalists, have a very specific mandate. We defend journalists. We, however, are in touch with a lot of organizations like PEN and PEN America who have a different mandate. They defend poets and writers as well as other creatives. I’ve been in many meetings where we discussed cases similar to what you just mentioned, cases of librarians or artists and documentary filmmakers being targeted. And if you talk to the Ukrainians, they say that Russia is trying to eliminate not just the Ukrainian army and state, but the Ukrainian identity as well. And as you know, it’s the writers, poets, and other artists who keep that identity alive.
When I interviewed Victoria in August, we talked about her friend, the writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, who had been abducted by Russian occupiers in March. Tragically, his body was recently found in a mass grave. It seems like all this, along with Evan’s arrest, is getting closer and closer to home. Anyway, I’d like to ask how you got involved in CPJ. I know you were an accomplished journalist for over 20 years. What did you see or experience in your career that made you want to join CPJ?
I sent my first report from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where I was born and grew up, in the year 2000, so I guess that’s 23 years ago now. And that was for an American media outlet. Then I worked for American media outlets for many years, and at some point, the authorities in Uzbekistan charged me with libel and defamation and threatened to add an espionage charge. That was years ago, over my reporting, and they put four of my articles in the indictment. I managed to flee Uzbekistan with the help of international organizations and the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent. And I eventually ended up in New York where I still live, and I continued working as a journalist. And then, at some point, even though I was pretty happy with what I was doing at the time, I decided to join the Committee to Protect Journalists. Over the years, I had known people from CPJ and interviewed them on issues related to my region. And I always knew it was a great organization, and I thought, “OK, I’m a journalist who went through this ordeal, and I want to help other journalists who have similar experiences.” So I joined CPJ in 2016.
Right. Well, that’s fantastic. And I know that, recently, you’ve had some troubles going back to Uzbekistan, and I sincerely hope that that does not continue.
I hope so. Yes, I hope so. And yesterday, CPJ published a statement about another journalist and documentary filmmaker who also was born in Uzbekistan, and she’s a British citizen, Shahida Tulaganova, and she’s also my former classmate from Tashkent. Uzbekistan denied entry to her when she wanted to go on a family visit recently. And I also learned about some other cases, including about a person from New York who was also put back on a flight to New York. And I hope this is not a trend, and I hope I will be able to go to Uzbekistan freely and safely, because I have my elderly parents there and other family members.
One last question before we say goodbye. President Biden and congressional leaders, Republicans and Democrats, have come out very strongly demanding that Evan Gershkovich be released. I’d like to end on a positive note, if possible. What can our government and others do to improve the state of affairs for journalists in countries where there’s less press freedom?
Yeah, that’s a good question. Because for non-governmental organizations like CPJ, it’s very difficult to do advocacy with authorities in, say, Russia. We used to have meetings with them years ago, but not anymore. And whenever we send any inquiries on any case—and we do that with every single case in Russia—they never respond. But when it comes to the U.S. government, it’s a different story. They have more leverage, and they should keep pressure on Russia, and not just concerning the release of Evan Gershkovich. Of course, it’s a very important case and the charges are very serious. But U.S. leaders should also pressure for the release of the other 19 journalists who are still in jail in Russia, and support organizations that advocate for more press freedom worldwide.
Leading by example would help. Our last president called the press the “enemy of the people,” which gave free rein to thugs and dictators to say the same thing. It’s important that our leaders not only respect the role of the press, but express the value of a free press to a functioning democracy.
Absolutely. There were some cases when leaders of other countries in the region I cover practically repeated the same rhetoric that we used to hear under the previous administration here in the United States, because they often think, “Well, if an American president can do that, of course I can, too.” And I’m glad that we are, more or less, back to what should be a norm in the U.S. with free press. But I have to point out that, in some smaller countries and regions that are not very often in the international news like Central Asia, the authority of the United States has been huge throughout, no matter who the president was, in fact. And that’s why, whenever I can, I encourage U.S. government officials to continue putting pressure on those governments across Central Asia and in the former Soviet Union and in the Balkans and such, because when U.S. officials speak about defending press freedom and protecting journalists, officials in those countries listen.
The War Against the Press
Thanks for putting the spotlight on these woeful stats and this important case. I'm surprised the conversation didn't swing to motive? It sure seems notable this wrongful arrest took place just days after the arrest in the US of Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, a Russian national posing as a Brazilian student and charged with spying. Sure seems like they're setting up a swap attempt? https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/russian-national-illegal-charged-acting-agent-russian-intelligence-service-united-states