American basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia, has been released through a prisoner exchange. It has been exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested in the United States at Abu Dhabi airport, the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced on Thursday. Negotiations had been going on for months. After her release, US President Joe Biden recognized the athlete as a great American.
“She represents the best of America — across the board,” Biden said in a speech at the White House on Thursday. The 32-year-old is on her way back to the United States after a prisoner exchange with Moscow after months of being “unjustly” held in Russia. “Welcome home, Brittney,” Biden said.
On Thursday, Biden thanked the US diplomats who negotiated the prisoner exchange and the United Arab Emirates, allowing Griner to travel. The athlete is on a plane and, according to the US president, is in a good mood. “The fact remains that she has lost months of her life and suffered unnecessary trauma. She deserves space, privacy and time with loved ones to recover and heal from her wrongful imprisonment.” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, thanked Biden and the entire administration for their efforts.
At the same time, Biden stressed that the United States continued to push for the release of American Paul Wheelan. He was arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to a long prison term for alleged espionage. “Unfortunately, Russia is handling Paul’s case differently from Brittney’s case for totally illegal reasons,” the president said.
Russia and the US have exchanged prisoners in the past, despite tensions over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. In August, a Russian court sentenced Griner to nine years in prison for drug possession in a trial that was heavily criticized by the United States. She was recently transferred to a women’s prison in the Russian Republic of Mordovia in the greater Volga region. From the start, there was hope that the 32-year-old could be released if prisoners were exchanged.
According to prosecutors, the athlete had so-called vape cartridges and hash oil with her during a baggage check at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow. It is said to have been 0.5 grams. This was ruled as illegal drug possession and attempted smuggling. The court saw no extenuating circumstances. Griner had pleaded guilty. Washington had accused Moscow of a politically motivated trial from the start – mainly because of the high sentence.
Griner has played for the Russian top club UMMC Yekaterinburg in the Urals since 2015 and won the Euroleague four times with them. In the American women’s professional WNBA competition, she won the championship with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014, with the US national team she also won two gold medals at the world championships in addition to two Olympic victories.
In return, Russia received former Soviet officer Viktor Bout. In Moscow it was said that he was on a plane to Russia. He is said to have illegally equipped criminal regimes and rebels in numerous countries with weapons. The Russian, infamous as the “Dealer of Death”, was imprisoned in the US as an arms dealer.
Source: Krone
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