# 'I was lured into a trap': Evan Gershkovich on the moment that led to 16 months in a Russian jail

https://mins.news/en/item/78697

- BBC News, 2026-09-29 12:43 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck9qr8jy8ynyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> US journalist Evan Gershkovich says he realised Russia had set him up when masked FSB agents detained him in Yekaterinburg in 2023 and accused him of espionage. Because he was not interrogated or tortured, he concluded he was being held as a valuable hostage, or “pawn in a greater game”. He was sentenced to 16 years but freed after 16 months in a high-profile prisoner swap.

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