Evan Gershkovich Says He Realised He Had Been “Lured Into a Trap” Before Arrest in Russia

Evan Gershkovich, the American journalist who was detained in Russia on espionage charges before being released in a high-profile prisoner exchange, has described the moment he realised he was being set up by Russian authorities.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Gershkovich said he understood something was wrong when a group of masked men approached him during a meeting at a restaurant in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in 2023.

At the time, Gershkovich was working as the Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and had travelled to the city, about 1,600 kilometres east of Moscow, to meet a person he believed was a source for a story.

According to Gershkovich, he and his contact were sitting in a partially occupied dining hall when several masked men entered and approached their table.

“They said, ‘I think we booked that table’,” he recalled, describing the remark as unusual but effective in catching him off guard.

The journalist said he was then informed that he was under arrest by the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s main domestic security agency.

Reflecting on the experience, Gershkovich said he quickly came to believe the espionage allegations had been fabricated and that he was being used as leverage in a broader geopolitical dispute.

“I’m not interrogated, I’m not tortured… I’m accused of espionage,” he said, recalling a sense of relief when he realised the situation.

“They’ve set me up and fabricated this case so that I can be a valuable hostage, a pawn in a greater game.”

Gershkovich, now 34, was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison after a Russian court found him guilty of espionage charges. He, his family, and The Wall Street Journal consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that he had been carrying out legitimate journalistic work.

After spending approximately 16 months in detention, Gershkovich was released as part of a major international prisoner exchange that involved several countries and multiple detainees.

Since his release, he has relocated to Berlin, Germany, where he has resumed his professional activities and spoken publicly about his experience in Russian custody.

His arrest in 2023 drew widespread international condemnation from media organisations, human rights groups, and Western governments, many of which argued that the case highlighted growing risks faced by journalists working in restrictive environments.

The case also became one of the most prominent examples of rising tensions between Russia and Western countries, with observers viewing Gershkovich’s detention as part of a broader deterioration in diplomatic relations.