Brittney Griner Released from Russian Prison in Swap for Arms Dealer Viktor Bout
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American basketball star Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody Thursday in a prisoner exchange after being detained for months for allegedly bringing illegal substances into the country.
Griner was freed in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Last week, President Biden signed off on the deal, which was finalized in the United Arab Emirates Thursday.
“Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” Biden tweeted.
Russian authorities took Griner into custody in February after cannabis vape cartridges were discovered in her luggage at the Moscow airport. She underwent trial and pled guilty to possessing the materials. Griner penned a handwritten letter to Biden pleading with him t0 attempt to negotiate her return to the U.S.
Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison on four counts of conspiring to kill Americans, acquiring and exporting anti-aircraft missiles, and sending material aid to a terrorist entity. The criminal was arrested in 2008 in a Thailand sting operation and was accused of providing weapons, which the U.S. alleges were intended to kill Americans, to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Biden signed Bout’s commutation order ending his prison term early.
The original proposed plan to retrieve Griner, worked on by the Department of Justice, the State Department, and White House officials, was supposed to include the release of retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Whelan has been in Russian custody for nearly four years after he was convicted on espionage charges.
“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Biden said Thursday.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken acknowledged to the outlet that the release of both Americans depended upon the cooperation of Russia.
“The other side gets a vote in this. It’s not just what we want. It’s what they’re prepared to do,” he said, adding that the Biden administration would continue to lobby to get both individuals home. “One way or another, one day or another, we’re going to see that through,” he said.
