(OV) Putins brutaler Deal mit Berlin. Mit Evan Gershkovich (2/2)

Evan Gershkovich (0:00)

They pull the hood off eventually, ask me who I work for. I say the Wall Street Journal. They put the hood back on, beat my midsection, pull the hood off.

Paul Ronzheimer (0:10)

They beat you up.

Evan Gershkovich (0:11)

They won't really beat me up. They pummel fists here. I think they're basically trying to tell you, we're in charge. You don't take this seriously.

Paul Ronzheimer (0:21)

Part one of my interview was Evan Gershkovich, who was imprisoned in Russia for 500 days, was already very intense, and now you can watch part two, and I can promise you it will be even more intense. You sit in the restaurant eating a borscht or what did you?

Evan Gershkovich (0:39)

So it's an American style steakhouse. Oh, a steakhouse. It's called Bukowski Grill. Another source of mine in Yekaterinburg had long before recommended it, had gone there once for lunch. It was really good. I was eating grilled barbecue chicken, and he the source that had a burger.

So it was actually, and it's a faux American steakhouse in the south. There's deer heads on the walls. It's kind of, I think they're trying to imitate Texas. So even though you're in Central Russia, it doesn't really even feel like Russia at this point.

Paul Ronzheimer (1:09)

And he hands you over this document?

Evan Gershkovich (1:12)

So he had said basically, I want to bring some papers to the meeting to help understand what we're talking about. I said, well, I was worried about the source at this period. Naively, obviously, in retrospect, and not myself, and I didn't want him to do anything incriminating for himself. And so I said, well, most bring some notes if that helps you explain something.

So he immediately hands me these papers, folded up eight papers, and I opened them in A4 sheets of paper, and he's drawn on them what look like basically official tables.

And that's basically the game because you've received compromising material basically at that point. And so then sitting there, and in that moment the room kind of wobbles. I think I realized something's completely off. I don't know if it's human instinct or what, but I kind of convinced myself it's fine. And so I'm taking notes, I have my notebook, I'm taking notes, and then I'm facing my backs to the wall, facing him and he's facing me, and the restaurant's kind of half empty. We met at 4 p.m. It's kind of between lunch and dinner, so it's sort of before the evening rush, it's half empty, and my head goes up because I hear the sound of marching feet. And so I look up and I see six men marching in.

Paul Ronzheimer (2:37)

Was weapons?

Evan Gershkovich (2:38)

No, they're just marching. At that point, all I just see is six men just sort of walking in this double file line. And then they say something I think is really smart for a security service agent. They say, they point and they say, I think we booked that table, one of them says, which is a really weird thing to say in a half empty restaurant. So we, I get up and the source get up and they turn, you're sort of frozen in place, like you booked this table. And then they turn, I see they have, because they kind of walked in from the other hall, then turned, I see they have balaclavas on.

So then they approach.

I think it all completely dawns on me what's going on. I start pushing the papers to the side. I think the source is completely screwed. Like, he's done. I think he's going to be arrested. And they're going to be interrogating me about him. As they approach, they yell out to me, you're under arrest by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, which is the FSB, formerly the KGB. And as they're dragging me down to the ground, I notice the source sort of stepping back, kind of melting into this group of people. So I'm under arrest. Obviously, now the fear is all on me. I've forgotten about him.

Paul Ronzheimer (3:46)

What did you think at that moment?

Evan Gershkovich (3:47)

I just think of my own safety, basically. They're dragging me out to a van. I think, okay, are they going to be roughing me up?

Paul Ronzheimer (3:54)

Did they handcuff you?

Evan Gershkovich (3:56)

They handcuffed me.

First, I think, pulled my sweater over my head, but then in the car, they put a hood over my head. So I'm sitting there in this van. I'm thinking, you know, maybe there's a way to get out of this misunderstanding, or they're going to rough me up or kick me out of the country, whatever.