US basketball star Griner released from Russia in prisoner swap - Biden
The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, a former arms dealer. The swap took place at the Abu Dhabi airport in the UAE.
By REUTERSUpdated: DECEMBER 8, 2022 17:03 US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, stands inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022(photo credit: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/File Photo )
US basketball star Brittney Griner has been released in a prisoner swap with Russia and is on her way back to the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, ending what he called months of "hell."
"This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release."
US President Joe Biden
The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, a former arms dealer. The swap took place at the Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates, Russian news agencies said.
"She's safe, she's on a plane, she's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances," Biden told reporters at the White House. "This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release."
Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner.She is safe.She is on a plane.She is on her way home. pic.twitter.com/FmHgfzrcDT
Cherelle Griner and U.S. President Joe Biden talk to reporters about the release by Russia of WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner, during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S. December 8, 2022 (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
Griner's release from Russia came together in the last 48 hours, a US official said on Thursday, adding that the Biden administration has offered Moscow multiple options to secure detainee Paul Whelan.
"It was bringing Brittney Griner home right now or bringing no American home right now," the official told reporters in a telephone briefing after President Joe Biden announced Griner's release.
Brittney Griner and Russian custody
Griner, 32, a star of the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on Feb. 17. Talks to secure her release were complicated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and the subsequent deep souring of ties between Washington and Moscow.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Griner from the Oval Office, along with Griner's wife, Cherelle. The White House released a photo of the telephone call.
"These past few months have been hell for Brittney," and for her wife, Biden said.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport when vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned in Russia, were found in her luggage.
She was sentenced on Aug. 4 to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs. She had pleaded guilty, but said she had made an "honest mistake" and had not meant to break the law.
"Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul's release, we are not giving up. We will never give up,"
US President Joe Biden
Last month she was taken to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia to serve her prison sentence.
Biden said the United States would continue to work to free Paul Whelan, a former Marine, who the president said Russia was treated differently.
"Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul's release, we are not giving up. We will never give up," Biden said.
Biden thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping facilitate Griner's return.
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters about the release of WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner by Russia, as Vice President Kamala Harris and Cherelle Griner listen, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S. December 8, 2022 (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
Griner's teammates cheer for her release
Brittney Griner's Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) teammates and fellow athletes cheered her release from Russian custody, months after she was first detained in a Moscow airport.
"My best friend is on the way Home!!!!! I love you BG!!!" Emma Cannon, who plays for the Indiana Fever and was previously on Griner's Phoenix Mercury, wrote on Twitter.
My best friend is on the way Home !!!!!! I love you BG!!!
The WNBA and its men's counterpart, the National Basketball Association (NBA), had advocated for the release of the eight-times All-Star.
"BG is FREE!!! 294 days and she is coming home!!!" tweeted twice WNBA champion and finals MVP Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm, who was among the league's vocal advocates for her release.
Who is Viktor Bout?
Bout, 55, was one of the world’s most wanted men before his arrest and was variously dubbed "the merchant of death" and "the sanctions buster" for his ability to get around arms embargoes.
For almost two decades, Bout became the world’s most notorious arms dealer, selling weaponry to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America. For experts on the Russian security services, Moscow's lasting interest in Bout hints strongly at Russian intelligence ties.
