Evan Gershkovich
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges. He was freed in a historic prisoner exchange in July 2024 after 16 months in detention.
On March 29, 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 31, was arrested by Russia's FSB in Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip. He was charged with espionage—the first American journalist detained on spy charges in Russia since the Cold War.
Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen born to Soviet-era Jewish immigrants, denied the charges. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government declared the charges baseless.
He was held in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison for 16 months. In July 2024, he was convicted in a closed trial and sentenced to 16 years.
On July 25, 2024, Gershkovich was freed as part of a historic multi-country prisoner exchange involving 24 prisoners across seven countries—the largest East-West exchange since the Cold War.
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