US journalist Evan Gershkovich has described his 2023 arrest in Russia as an elaborate Federal Security Service (FSB) operation, saying authorities deliberately arranged circumstances that could be used to justify detaining him.
In an extract from his forthcoming book, Gershkovich said he was reporting on Russian military production when a source at a Yekaterinburg steakhouse unexpectedly handed him documents that purportedly contained information about tank production. As he examined the papers, masked FSB officers entered the restaurant and arrested him.
Gershkovich said he and his editors had previously agreed that the source should not bring documents to their meetings and that he should not accept any if they appeared. He said the source nevertheless thrust the papers into his hands shortly before the arrest.
He was subsequently sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, allegations he, the Wall Street Journal and the US government strongly rejected. He was released in August 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries.
Gershkovich said he later learned that the FSB had allegedly prepared a second plan to arrest him during a separate reporting trip if the Yekaterinburg operation failed.
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