Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was imprisoned in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges, was released in August 2024 as part of a prisoner swap with the United States.
More than two years after his release, his book “This Cursed Beautiful Land” published Tuesday, detailing his capture and the deal that brought him home.
In an interview with Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post’s director of press freedom initiatives who was imprisoned in Iran for 544 days between 2014 to 2016, Gershkovich said he hopes his story is “instructive” for fellow journalists.
“Not all the work we do is safe, and not everybody likes us doing that work in authoritarian countries,” Gershkovich said. But then there’s also, you know, we report from the front lines of conflicts. And that is both brave and reckless at the same time.”
If countries are becoming more authoritarian, or more willing to engage in “hostage diplomacy,” then journalists need to understand the risks posed to them, Gershkovich said.
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