Brittney Griner, the US basketball player, has been released
by Russia following a swap deal that sends Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker, the
other way.
President Joe Biden confirmed the release of Griner in a
press briefing at the White House on Thursday.
He added that the 33-year-old Phoenix Mercury’s star is safe
and currently returning home on a plane from the United Arab Emirates, where
the exchange took place.
Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2022
She is safe.
She is on a plane.
She is on her way home. pic.twitter.com/FmHgfzrcDT
“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” Biden
said.
“I’m glad to say Brittney’s in good spirits… she needs time and space to recover.”
 |
Viktor Bout was extradited to the US from Thailand in 2010
|
Photo credit: Reuters |
Griner was in Russia to play in the Women’s National
Basketball Association (WNBA) offseason when she was arrested at a Moscow
airport in February for possessing cannabis oil.
Possession of cannabis is illegal in Russia, and despite the
Basketball player’s plea that her usage of the substance was medically
prescribed, she was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and sent to a penal
colony.
In November, Russia announced a swap deal for the release of
Griner and Paul Whelan, a US ex-marine, with Bout, a Russian felon in America
once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death.”
Whelan is however yet to be released by Russia as part of
the deal.
Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and an openly gay
Black woman.
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