For keeping him in her prisons of Russia mentions o journalist Evan Gerskovich in his article and makes revelations about the unit responsible for his adventure.
In his first article since his release last August, American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained for more than a year in Russia, describes a “shadow” unit responsible for his imprisonment.
In the extensive investigation published by the Wall Street Journal and co-authored by several journalists, Gershkowitz describes the operation of DKRO, a counterintelligence unit of the Russian FSB secret service. Based on his experiences and interviews he and his colleagues have with Western officials or Russian dissidents, he reports how this service responsible for the arrest of many Westerners.
Gerskovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in the Urals. In July he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for “espionage” after a closed-door trial. He, like the newspaper he worked for, he denied the accusations from the outset which were never proven. He was released on August 1 as part of a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, the largest since the Cold War.
Service with just 2,000 agents
In his article, Gershkowitz explains that he was told, while in prison, by the investigator who had taken over his case, that he was “arrested as a CIA spy because DKRO had stated that he was a spy.” According to the report, this service has only 2,000 agents etcand its head, an official named Minaev, plays a direct role in selecting the Americans to be captured and the Russians with whom to exchange them. The newspaper clarifies that a DKRP sub-directorate is responsible for monitoring foreign journalists.
This unit has also ordered the arrest of hundreds of Russians who are accused of espionage, collaboration with the enemy or treason, the WSJ added.
In recent years, many American citizens have been arrested and sentenced to heavy prison terms in Russia. Washington, which supports Ukraine militarily and financially, accuses Moscow of aiming to exchange these Americans for Russians held in the US.