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Updated April 30th, 2023 at 18:26 IST

Biden at DC dinner: 'Working like hell’ for release of Evan Gershkovich from Russia's jail

DC dinner was inaugurated by acclaimed actor and ex-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broadly speaking about the importance of "free press."

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Joe Biden
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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US President Joe Biden on Saturday, April 29, praised the “absolute courage” of the detained American journalist in Russia, Evan Gershkovich, and pledged that his administration is ‘working like hell’ to secure his and another reporter Austin Tice's release. Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, popular for jibes and humorous speech, Biden, in a rather solemn tone, vowed that he will bring home the American journalists jailed in the authoritarian regime nations worldwide.

While he mocked some of his favourite foils at the DC dinner, the US President reiterated calls for the immediate release of 31-year-old journalist Gershkovich who was put behind bars by the Kremlin City Court on espionage charges in a case. He said that he met with the parents of freelance journalist Tice and Gershkovich, jailed in Moscow. 

The latter became the first correspondent to be detained on espionage charges in Russia since the cold war. Tice was nabbed at a checkpoint near Damascus in August 2012 while he was reporting on the war in Syria. The freelance journalist, who is still speculated to be alive by American authorities, is a Texas native and veteran of the US Marine Corps. He was a student at Georgetown University at the time he was held in the Middle East on suspicion of spying. At the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the US President also shed light on the importance of a free press in a democracy. 

We are here to send a message to the country and, quite frankly, to the world: The free press is a pillar, maybe the pillar, of a free society, not the enemy, he noted.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

'Evan and Austin should be released immediately': Biden

In the presence of first lady Jill Biden and other top officials at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, Biden asserted, "Journalism is not a crime," as he delivered a rare serious dinner speech. Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, was among the audience of 2,600, some of whom wore “Free Evan” buttons for solidarity. Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who came home after nearly 10 months of detention in Russia last year in a prisoner swap, was also a guest at the dinner. She attended the event with her wife Cherelle. “This time last year we were praying for you, Brittney,” Biden told the basketball star. Biden then addressed the parents of Gershkovich, who were given a standing ovation in the hall.  

"Evan and Austin should be released immediately along with every other American detained abroad,” Biden said in his speech at White House dinner. “I promise you, I am working like hell to get them home.”

“We all stand with you. Evan went to Russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from, years ago. Absolute courage … to the entire family, everyone in this hall stands with you. We’re working every day to secure his release,” said Biden.

Video message from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP

Credit: AP

The DC dinner was inaugurated by the acclaimed actor and ex-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broadly speaking about the importance of the "free and independent press." In the pre-videotaped message, the actor focused on the significance of journalism in a democratic society. Reporters are the “ally of the people," he said. The event last night was the first Biden attended since the cancellation during the previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Biden is also the first president in six years to have accepted the invitation to the DC dinner. Former US President Donald Trump had snubbed the event during his tenure.   

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Published April 30th, 2023 at 18:26 IST

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