American journalist Evan Gershkovich was imprisoned in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges. Gershkovich was released in connection with the regular exchange in August.
American journalist imprisoned in Russia Evan Gershkovich has revealed details of the secretive agency suspected of being responsible for his arrest.
The journalist of the newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) was arrested in Russia on charges of espionage in March 2023. He spent 16 months in prison before Russia handed him over to the United States during a prisoner exchange in August. Gershkovich has denied the espionage charges brought against him by Russia.
In his first post-release op-ed in the WSJ in the article Gershkovich takes a look at the little-known Russian Counterintelligence Operations Agency. According to an article written by Gershkovich and three other journalists, the agency is responsible for the “biggest wave of repression” since Joseph Stalin of the times.
The agency is allegedly a key player in the arrests of Russia’s own citizens, and it also participates in harassment operations abroad.
According to the article, the agency known as DKRO has also been responsible for the arrests of other Western nationals as part of an operation that has grown significantly in recent years.
WSJ says DKRO expanded campaign to arrest US citizens after first tasked with freeing hitman jailed in Germany Vadim Krasikov. According to the article, the purpose of the arrests is to use US citizens as “bait”.
Krasikov was handed over to Russia during a prisoner exchange.
When journalists investigated DKRO’s activities for the article, they were openly followed on the streets of Vienna and Washington.
According to the article, DKRO is suspected to be headed by a lieutenant general Dmitri Minayevwhich “practically chooses which Americans are detained and which Russians they are exchanged for.
Source: AFP