US journalist detained in Russia writes first letter to family from Lefortovo detention centre

Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal, detained in Yekaterinburg, Russia and charged with espionage, has written the first letter to his family from Lefortovo pre-detention centre. The Wall Street Journal wrote about it.

As the newspaper notes, the message is written in Russian, as Evan has a good command of it, as his parents were emigrants who had left the USSR.

The letter is dated April 5.

I want to say that I have not given up hope. I am reading. I am practicing. And I am trying to write. Maybe I'll write something good in the end," the note reads.

Evan turned to his mother and jokingly "thanked her for preparing him for prison food.

Mum, you have unfortunately, for better or worse, prepared me well for prison food. In the morning we are given hot millet, oatmeal or wheat porridge for breakfast. I remember my childhood," he joked.

In an email, Gershkovich confirmed that he had received a handout organised by a friend that contained such small items as toiletries, slippers, clothes and pens.

According to WSJ, the letter was addressed to the journalist's mother, father and sister.

It is noted that the message is the first direct contact of the American journalist with his family after his arrest by the FSB of the Russian Federation on March 30.

We shall remind you that on 30 March, the Lefortovo court in Moscow arrested The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich. He is accused of spying for the USA.