U.S. Basketball player Brittney Yevette Griner (Wikipedia Commons)
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON DC – U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been released Thursday by Russia from a penal colony in a negotiated prisoner-release deal, the State Department announced. Griner, who was held in jail the past 10 months is on a plane on her way back to America. The Texas basketball player was arrested in a Moscow airport in February after airport officials discovered vape canisters and cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in August, and her appeal was denied Oct. 25. Griner was freed from jail in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. According to sources, Griner is being flown to a military medical facility in San Antonio, Texas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the release of Griner from Russian detention and said the administration will continue efforts to bring Paul Whelan and other detainees back to the US.
“This morning, I joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, National Security Advisor Sullivan, and Cherelle Griner in the Oval Office, as Cherelle spoke to her wife Brittney, who is now on her way back to the United States and to her wife’s loving embrace. I am grateful to the State Department team and to our colleagues across the government who worked tirelessly to secure her release. I especially commend Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, who is accompanying Brittney back to the United States, as well as his entire team. We also extend deep appreciation to our many partners who helped achieve this outcome, including our Emirati friends, who assisted in the transfer today.”
-U.S. Secretary of State Blinken
The U.S. Secretary of State added that while “we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly. Despite our ceaseless efforts, the Russian Government has not yet been willing to bring a long overdue end to his wrongful detention. I wholeheartedly wish we could have brought Paul home today on the same plane with Brittney.”
Griner Released in Exchange For Notorious Russian Arms Dealer
WHITE PLAINS, NY – NOVEMBER 16: In this photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, former Soviet military officer and arms trafficking suspect Viktor Bout (C) deplanes after arriving at Westchester County Airport November 16, 2010 in White Plains, New York. Bout was extradited from Thailand to the U.S. to face terrorism charges after a final effort by Russian diplomats to have him released failed. (Photo by U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images)
Griner had argued that she had been prescribed cannabis for her pain and inadvertently packed it. Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia, who was not a part of the swap, has been jailed on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless. Bout, a notorious arms trafficker known as the “Merchant of Death”, was in the middle of a 25-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to kill Americans relating to the support of a Colombian terrorist organization. In a U.S. sting operation, Bout was arrested on 6 March 2008 in Thailand on terrorism charges by the Royal Thai Police in cooperation with American authorities and Interpol. Bout was extradited to the U.S. where he accused of intending to sell arms to a U.S. DEA informer pretending to represent the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for use against U.S. forces in Colombia, but denied the charges. On 2 November 2011, Bout was convicted by a jury in a Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization, and was sentenced to the minimum 25 years’ imprisonment.
Griner is Phoenix Mercury star, NCAA, WNBA and Olympic Champion
U.S. Basketball player Brittney Yevette Griner (Wikipedia Commons)
Griner is a Phoenix Mercury star and NCAA, WNBA and Olympic champion. She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears in Waco, Texas. She is the only NCAA basketball player to both score 2,000 points and block 500 shots. Griner was on the United States women’s Olympic team in 2016, and led them to victory at the Rio Olympics. In 2020, Griner protested the Star Spangled Banner and stated she would not be on the court while the national anthem was played during game openers
