WNBA star Brittney Griner is LIBERATED by Russia in a 1-for-1 captive swap for “Merchant of Death” arms dealer Viktor Bout
Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony after the Biden White House reached a deal with the Kremlin over a prisoner swap, according to an administration official. Griner is now in US custody, according to CBS.
Griner, the WNBA star jailed in Russia on drug charges, will be brought back to the US in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner, 32, faced nine years in a Russian penal colony, where she was expected to sew for 12 hours or more a day in conditions of exploitation.
Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony after the Biden administration reached a deal with the Kremlin over a prisoner swap, according to an administration official
Suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout, center, is led by armed Thai police squads as he arrives at the Criminal Court in Bangkok, Thailand October 5, 2010. Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the US releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout
The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, prompted the release of the most prominent American imprisoned abroad. Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose months in prison for drug offenses brought unprecedented attention from the wrongfully incarcerated population.
Biden’s approval to release a Russian criminal nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” underscored the escalating pressure his administration was facing to bring Griner home, particularly following the recent resolution of their criminal case and subsequent transfer to a penal colony.
The swap was confirmed by US officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the deal prior to a White House announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity. Biden spoke to Griner on the phone Thursday while her wife, Cherelle, was in the Oval Office. The President was scheduled to address reporters later in the morning.
The swap was confirmed by US officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the deal prior to a White House announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity. Biden spoke to Griner on the phone Thursday while her wife, Cherelle, was in the Oval Office. The President was scheduled to address reporters later in the morning
PICTURED (left to right): Biden, Griner’s wife Cherelle, Harris and Blinken
Russian and US officials had expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks after months of tense negotiations, with Biden saying in November he was confident Russia would reach an agreement once mid-term elections were completed. A senior Russian official said last week that an agreement could be reached before the end of the year.
Still, the fact that the deal was a one-for-one swap came as a surprise, given that US officials had been expressing their determination for months, both Griner and Paul Whelan, a since December 2018 in Russia jailed Michigan corporate security executives to bring home on espionage charges his family and the US government have ruled baseless.
With the release of Bout, the US freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel who the Justice Department once described as one of the most prolific arms dealers in the world. Bout, whose exploits inspired a Hollywood film, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of weapons that US officials said would be used against Americans .
According to Portal, Griner was in IK-2 in Yavas, one of several penal colonies in the area