Journalist Evan Gershkovich asks Putin for interview after getting released from Russia in prisoner swap

MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had been detained in Russia for more than 16 months, made a daring suggestion before being released on Thursday, August 1, in a prisoner swap, asking whether he could interview Russian President Vladimir Putin after being freed.

The Wall Street Journal said that Gershkovich made the plea while completing a formal, required appeal for presidential clemency that was sent to Putin prior to his release.

"The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?" the Journal reported.

Evan Gershkovich was arrested last year while on trip to Yekaterinburg

On March 29, 2023, Evan Gershkovich, 32, was detained while covering a trip to Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains after being charged with espionage.

He was "wrongfully detained," according to the Biden administration, and the US government and The Wall Street Journal both categorically refuted the accusations, calling them baseless.

Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 months at a high-security penal colony on July 19.

Joe Biden said Russia released 16 prisoners in swap for eight Russians

On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that eight Russians detained in the West were exchanged for the release of sixteen inmates by Russia.

The Putin administration freed four Americans, including Paul Whelan and Gershkovich, five Germans, and seven Russian citizens who were detained for political reasons within their own nation.

"Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free," Biden said, per Fox News.

Donald Trump demands more details surrounding the massive US-Russia prisoner swap

Former president Donald Trump demanded more details surrounding the massive prisoner swap between US and Russia on Thursday that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump responded to the news by praising his own track record of prisoner swaps and raising doubts about whether the United States provided money in exchange for the once-detained Americans.

“So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because I’m sure the answer is NO)?” the former president asked in his post, per The Hill. 

“Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” Trump added.

The former president went on to argue that providing financial aid to a rival nation sets a "bad precedent for the future."

“They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade ‘complex’ – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!” he wrote.

Internet lashes out at Evan Gershkovich after journalist asks for interview with Vladimir Putin

Netizens slammed the WSJ reporter for stupidly asking for an interview with Vladimir Putin after getting his release from Russian prison.

One X user tweeted, "Some kind of Stockholm syndrome? Russian terrorists will capture him again and exchange him for other Russian terrorists. Or they will kill him like they killed Alexei #Navalny #RussiaIsATerroristState."

Another wrote, "Whole exchange is a scheme. We only involved Russian nationals. Putin won all his KGB agents and one killer, Kerskovich for legitimate jurnlists, again Russian ethnicity."

"Ridiculous. Maybe he liked jail and wants to go back. How about staying out of Russia," remarked one, and another wrote, "Guess he didn't learn his lesson."

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