US journalist Evan Gershkovich has told the BBC’s Today programme about the 16 months when he was detained in Russia.
In his first UK broadcast interview, the Wall Street Journal correspondent said he realised he had been “lured into a trap” when masked men surrounded him at a restaurant in March 2023, and arrested him.
He was later sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges, but released in 2024 as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange.
He and his employer have always maintained that the charges were false, and following his arrest, then-US President Joe Biden said he had “no higher priority” than bringing Gershkovich home.