Brittney Griner Lands In U.S. After 10 Months In Russian Prison

Topline

Basketball star Brittney Griner has returned to U.S. soil after months of captivity in Russia as part of a high-profile prisoner swap for a Russian arms dealer, ending months of diplomatic jockeying amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington.

Key Facts

Roger Carstens, the U.S. a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs who traveled with Griner, confirmed Griner’s arrival and said he is “so happy to have Brittney back on U.S. soil.”.

Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for carrying a small amount of cannabis oil and convicted on drug possession and smuggling charges, was traded for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death.”

The swap took place in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced at a press conference.

Griner is now expected to undergo a medical evaluation at a nearby Army medical center, reportedly a routine procedure for freed prisoners.

Key Background

Griner, arrested just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was a subject of tense diplomatic bargaining at a time when U.S.-Russian relations had all but collapsed. She pleaded guilty to carrying cannabis oil and was sentenced to nine years in a remote penal colony in Russia’s brutal prison system. The U.S. denounced Griner’s imprisonment as wrongful and considered her harsh sentence, which she unsuccessfully appealed, a political move. The one-to-one swap exchanging Griner for Bout, who was more than a decade into a 25-year prison sentence for allegedly conspiring to kill Americans and selling millions of dollars of weapons to terrorist groups, underscores the pressure on the Biden administration to secure Griner’s release. The administration had also hoped to secure the release of Paul Whelan, who is detained in Russia on espionage charges. Whelan, who the U.S. also says is wrongly detained, was ultimately not released and remains in a Russian prison.

Chief Critic

Whelan, speaking from a Russian prison, told CNN he is “disappointed” more hadn’t been done to secure his release. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

Further Reading

Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he is ‘disappointed’ that more has not been done to secure his release (CNN)

Brittney Griner Freed From Russian Detention In Swap For ‘Merchant Of Death’ (Forbes)