New footage of journalist Evan Gershkovich's 2023 arrest in Russia shows his terrifying encounter with the country's intelligence agents, who used physical force to detain him.
Check out the vid ... the Wall Street Journal reporter gets put in a headlock and thrown to the ground before being cuffed by the plainclothes agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). The officers first pinned Evan down on his stomach and then guided him outside the eatery ... all the while keeping him in the headlock.
As you know, Evan was busted in March 2023 on these bogus espionage charges after he went to meet with a source for a WSJ article he was working on.
The FSB accused the reporter of collecting information about Russia's military equipment for the CIA. Evan was later transferred to Moscow, where he was detained in the Lefortovo Prison, and subsequently sentenced to 16 years in prison.
But, thanks to a historic prisoner swap with Russia ... Evan was released last Thursday along with former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, both of whom had also been wrongly detained.
Evan, Paul and Alsu received a hero's welcome when they touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Thursday ... where they reunited with their loved ones and received hugs from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
A happy ending to an otherwise terrifying tale.