Club honors imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich with Aubuchon Award

The National Press Club named imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich this year’s winner of the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award.

Gershkovich was detained March 29 during a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, Russia. He is being held in a Moscow prison for what Russian officials call espionage. The Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny the charge and have called on Russia to release Gershkovich.

By bestowing the Aubuchon Award on Gershkovich, the Club is recognizing his courageous reporting and making a commitment to work for his freedom, the Club said in a statement.

The Club annually selects an international and a domestic reporter for the Aubuchon Award, its highest honor for press freedom. The choice is usually made later in the year. Gershkovich was tapped early in order to draw more attention to his case and support ongoing efforts to release him, according to a Journal article Thursday.

“Journalist Evan Gershkovich has been dedicated and courageous while reporting from Russia during a period of dramatically increased danger for journalists,” Club President Eileen O’Reilly and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein said in the Club statement. “In an environment filled with risks, he has consistently delivered honest, bold and enlightening news coverage. Evan’s journalism is the cause of his unjust detention by Russian security forces. Journalism is not a crime and Evan should not be jailed for his profession — he should be honored for it. We call for Evan to be released immediately and without conditions.”

O’Reilly added in a video: “Evan has earned this award through his great journalism, his courage to continue reporting in a dangerous area and his support of press freedom for others.”

The Aubuchon Award often goes to journalists who are being unjustly detained. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was held in an Iranian prison for 544 days, was the 2015 Aubuchon winner.

“His award is richly deserved, but as a previous recipient, I can tell you it’s not one you want, because in all likelihood it means you’re in prison,” Rezaian Tweeted Thursday. “Thanks to the @PressClubDC for its forever commitment to standing up for journalists in trouble.”