Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was imprisoned in Russia for over 16 months, made a bold proposal before his release in a prisoner swap on Thursday, asking whether he could interview Russian President Vladimir Putin after being freed.
Gershkovich made the request while filling out a mandated official request for presidential clemency that was addressed to Putin before his release, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"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.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and was accused of espionage. The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained," and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face.
WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH RELEASED BY RUSSIA IN PRISONER SWAP; PAUL WHELAN ALSO BEING FREED
Evan Gershkovich was among 16 Russian prisoners freed in a prisoner swap on Thursday. (Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP, File)
Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years at a high-security penal colony on July 19.
It was unclear whether Putin would accept Gershkovich's proposal. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))
BIDEN CALL RUSSIA PRISONER SWAP DEAL THAT FEED WSJ'S GERSHKOVICH, WHELAN A ‘FEAT OF DIPLOMACY’
President Biden on Thursday said that Russia released 16 prisoners in the swap for eight Russians being held in the West. Among the prisoners Russia released were four Americans, including Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country.
President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were detained in Russia, during a brief event where some of their relatives were in attendance, at the White House in Washington on Thursday. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
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"Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free," Biden said.
Fox News’ David Rutz, Brian Flood, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Greg Norman contributed to this report.