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WNBA star Brittney Griner released by Russia in 1-for-1 prisoner swap with ‘merchant of death’ arms dealer Viktor Bout
BRITTNEY Griner has been released from prison in Russia.
The WNBA star was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, officials said.
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Griner was held for months in a Russian prison after being convicted of drug charges.
The one-for-one prisoner exchange was approved by president Joe Biden within the last week, reported.
The agreement was reportedly reached last Thursday.
Biden shared a message about Giner's release on Thursday alongside a picture with her wife Cherelle and vice president Kamala Harris.
"Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home," read his tweet.
The deal between the US and the US leaves American corporate security executive and former Marine Paul Whelan imprisoned in Russia in what American officials have called fraudulent charges.
Russian courts sentenced Griner to nine years in prison on August 4 on drug smuggling charges for bringing hashish oil into the country.
Griner was heading back to New York in February 2022 when she was stopped at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after a scan revealed that she had cartridges containing liquid with hashish oil.
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Bout was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the states after being convicted by a federal court in 2011 for conspiracy to kill US citizens and officials.
Biden addressed the nation on Thursday from the White House alongside Harris and Griner's wife Cherelle, saying "this was a day we'd worked for for a long time."
He thanked the public servants who worked "tirelessly" to secure her release and the United Arab Emirates, where the exchange was made.
"Brittney is in good spirits and relieved to finally be heading home," he said.
The president also spoke of Whelan, saying "we have not forgotten about" him and pledged to not stop fighting for his release.
"This was not a choice of which American to bring home," he explained, adding that Russia was treating Whelan's case "differently."
Brittney's wife Cherelle also spoke at the White House on Thursday, saying she was "overwhelmed with emotions" as she thanked the Biden administration,
"Today my family is whole, but as you all are aware there is a whole of families who aren't," she said.
"BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home including Paul," she added.
"We do understand there are still people out there who are enduring what I endured the last nine months."
'MERCHANT OF DEATH'
The WNBA star was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, officials said.
The dramatic moment came more than a decade after he was convicted on charges of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials.
Bout exploited the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and ran a fleet of planes, shipping ammunition to war-torn countries in Africa.
He’s also accused of supplying ammunition to brutal regimes and warlords.
In 2011, Bout was convicted on charges of conspiring to kill American citizens and officers.
He was also found guilty of providing resources in the form of weapons to a foreign terrorist organization.
Attorney Preet Bharara said: “He aimed to sell those weapons to terrorists for the purpose of killing Americans.”
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Juan Zarate, who served as the deputy national security advisor for combatting terrorism during the Bush Administration, described Bout as a “singular international criminal”.
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