WASHINGTON, April 20. /TASS/. The family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia on espionage charges, have not requested assistance from retired US official and diplomat Bill Richardson, who has a channel for prisoner swaps with Russia, Richardson Center Executive Director Mickey Bergman told TASS on Thursday.

"Evan's family has not yet reached out to us, so we are not actively engaged in his case. The family is probably feeling overwhelmed at the moment, and we never want to add to the pressure on families. If and when they are ready, they know how to reach us," Bergman said.

He confirmed that Richardson continued to work on the case of US national Paul Whelan, jailed in Russia. "We continue to work on the Paul Whelan case, but are not able to share any details," he said, when asked to comment on the Whelan family’s remarks about their decision to suspend interaction with the US government for the time being.

Gershkovich and Whelan cases

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, acting at the US’ behest, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of Russian defense companies. The reporter was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The FSB Investigative Department opened a criminal case against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). As Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized earlier, the journalist was caught red-handed. On March 30, Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court ruled that Gershkovich be held in custody until May 29.

Paul Whelan, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained by the FSB in Moscow on December 28, 2018, while on a spy mission. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). The Moscow City Court eventually sentenced Whelan to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.

Bill Richardson

Richardson served as a US ambassador to the UN and energy secretary under the Clinton administration. He was the governor of New Mexico from 2003-2011, moving on to establish the Richardson Center for Global Engagement in Santa Fe to promote dialogue with other countries "not usually open to more formal diplomatic channels." He traveled to North Korea several times as part of efforts to facilitate a solution to its nuclear issue. He also visited Venezuela to meet with President Nicolas Maduro and discuss the possibility of releasing US nationals held in custody in the country. In recent years, Richardson dealt with cases of other Americans detained overseas for various reasons.