Evan Gershkovich said he knew he was being framed the moment masked Russian security agents surrounded him at a restaurant in 2023. The Wall Street Journal reporter described the arrest in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, saying he was "lured into a trap."
Gershkovich was in Yekaterinburg, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow, meeting someone he believed was a source for a story. He and the source were sitting in a half-empty dining hall when roughly half a dozen masked men marched in and detained him.
"I'm not interrogated, I'm not tortured. I'm accused of espionage," Gershkovich said, describing an unexpected sense of relief. "They've set me up and fabricated this case so that I can be a valuable hostage — a pawn in a greater game."
The FSB, Russia's federal security service, arrested Gershkovich on espionage charges in March 2023. He was the Journal's Moscow correspondent and had lived in Russia since 2017. He and his employer have always denied the charges.
A Russian court sentenced him to 16 years in a penal colony. He spent 16 months in detention before being freed in a high-profile prisoner swap involving multiple countries.
Gershkovich, now 34, is based in Berlin. His case drew widespread condemnation from press freedom organizations and Western governments, who called the charges politically motivated.
Russia has a history of detaining foreign nationals and using them as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations. The swap that secured Gershkovich's release was one of the largest in recent years, involving several prisoners held by Russia and Western nations.
His account adds detail to what was previously known about the arrest. The interview marks one of his most extensive public statements since his release.
The Journal has continued to call for the release of other journalists held by Russia. Gershkovich's case renewed attention on the risks foreign correspondents face in Russia, where independent media has been largely dismantled since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
