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Brittney Griner: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout

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Brittney Griner, an incarcerated American basketball player, was traded to Russia for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been detained in an American jail for 12 years. According to President Joe Biden, Griner is safe and returning home from the United Arab Emirates on a plane.

He stated at the White House, “I’m delighted to hear Brittney’s in excellent spirits… she needs time and space to heal. Russian media reported that Bout, also known as the “dealer of death,” has returned to Moscow.

After arriving in Russia, Bout made a few brief comments to a reporter from national television. “In the middle of the night they just woke me up and said ‘Get your things together,’ and that was it,” he claimed.

Bout allegedly hugged his mother and wife as he descended the plane’s stairs while carrying a bunch of flowers. Griner was detained in February at a Moscow airport for having cannabis oil, and last month he was transferred to a prison camp.

In July, the Biden administration suggested a prisoner swap, knowing that Moscow had long demanded Bout’s release. Two private aircraft flew the pair from Moscow and Washington to Abu Dhabi airport for the elaborate swap, and then flew them back home.

Footage on Russian state media – apparently provided by Russian security services – showed them crossing on the tarmac with their respective teams.

“The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Brittney Griner’s wife Cherelle praised the efforts of the Biden administration in securing her release: “I’m just standing here overwhelmed with emotions.”

A joint Saudi-UAE statement claims that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were instrumental in the mediation efforts.

The Saudi heir to the throne enjoys good ties with Vladimir Putin of Russia, and in September he assisted in organising a complicated exchange of hundreds of captives held by Russia and Ukraine.

However, the White House insisted that no mediation had taken place. “The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

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Brittney Griner pleads guilty to Russian drugs charge

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Brittney Griner, a US basketball player, admitted guilt to drug charges in a Russian court but said she didn’t do it on purpose. The gold medalist from the Olympics was held in February at a nearby airport after it was claimed that cannabis oil vape cartridges were discovered in her luggage.

She explained to the court in Khimki, “I was in a rush packing and the cartridges accidentally landed up in my luggage. Her trial started last week on allegations that may land her in jail for ten years. Cherelle Griner, Griner’s wife, had earlier urged Joe Biden to take “whatever steps are required” to achieve her release. Cherelle Griner was informed by Mr. Biden that he was working to obtain a release as quickly as feasible.

The basketball player had already written to the president expressing her fear that “she might remain here forever.” The US has been cautioned by Russian government representatives not to “make noise in public about the case.” According to deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, “the hype and working on the public, with all the enthusiasm for this genre among modern politicians, today only complicates” the legal process.

“Please accept my guilty plea, your honour. But no intention was present. I wanted to avoid breaking the law, “In English, Brittney Griner addressed the court. She stated that she needed more time to prepare and would prefer to deliver her testimony later. After that, the trial was postponed for a week.

With the WNBA franchise Phoenix Mercury, Griner is one of the most successful players in the women’s professional league in the US. She had gone to Russia in the off-season to play club basketball, and she has played for the EuroLeague team UMMC Ekaterinburg since 2014.

Her high-profile arrest at the Sheremetyevo airport outside of Moscow occurred a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, despite the fact that cannabis oil is illegal in that country.

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Brittney Griner has had her detention in Russia extended

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Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, has had her pre-trial detention in Russia extended for another month. Ms Griner, 31, has been detained since February, when Moscow airport officials allegedly discovered cannabis oil in her luggage as she was returning to the United States after performing in Russia. 

Officials in the United States believe she was wrongfully imprisoned and should be released. If convicted, Ms Griner, one of the best female players in the world, faces up to ten years in prison. Ms Griner is seen in an Associated Press photo wearing an orange hoodie and looking down at the court hearing in Khimki, Russia, just outside of Moscow. 

A consular official from the US State Department attended the hearing and spoke with Ms Griner on the sidelines, according to the US State Department. Ms Griner was doing “as well as can be expected in extremely difficult circumstances,” according to a spokesman. Her lawyer told the Associated Press after the hearing that Ms Griner had not expressed “any complaints about the detention conditions.”

According to state-owned Russian news agency TASS, Russia is hoping to trade Ms Griner for Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker convicted in the United States. Bout, dubbed “the Merchant of Death,” was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the United States, where he was found guilty of attempting to smuggle weapons to Colombian rebels for use against US citizens.

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