Brittney Griner released from Russian prison in prisoner exchange for Viktor Bout

After a Russian court found out Britney Griner guilty on drug charges, president Joe Biden he pledged that his government would “work tirelessly and seek every avenue possible” to bring her home. Those efforts paid off. On December 8, 2022, the Associated press confirmed that Brittney would be released as part of a prisoner swap with Russia. US to release Russian arms dealer Victor’s fight in exchange for releasing Brittney.

President Biden also confirmed Brittney’s safe release Twitter🇧🇷 “Just moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner,” he wrote. She is safe. She is on an airplane. She is returning home. She also posted photos with Brittney’s wife, who was with the president and vice president, Kamala HarrisHow was the prisoner’s release confirmed?

Prior to Brittney’s sentencing, it was rumored that she was involved in a prisoner exchange. Reports indicated that the United States was willing to negotiate Victor’s fighta convicted Russian arms dealer, by Brittney and a former Marine Paul Whelan🇧🇷 Whelan, now a corporate security executive, was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges (Whelan maintained his innocence). He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020. On August 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov He said Russia was “ready to discuss the issue” of a trade, according to Axios.

Prior to her trial, the US State Department listed Brittney as “wrongfully detained,” a term used by President Biden in his statement following her conviction. “Today, US citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is yet another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is unjustly detaining Brittney,” the statement read.

The drama began on February 17, when Brittney was arrested at the Moscow airport. The basketball star was traveling to the country to play for Russia’s UMMC Yekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason and was arrested after authorities charged her with drug trafficking. Brittney reportedly had less than an ounce of cannabis oil in her luggage. She would eventually say she accidentally put vape cartridges in her luggage because she was in a hurry to catch her flight. Russia continued to hold Griner for months until her trial on July 1.

Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges and was awaiting leniency from the court. “Considering the nature of your case, the insignificant amount of the substance e [Griner’s] personality and track record of positive contributions to world and Russian sport, the defense hopes the request will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and that there will be no harsh sentence,” his lawyers said in a statement, according to CNN. Her lawyers also pointed out that samples taken from Brittney showed no traces of drugs.

Russian courts eventually sentenced her to nine years. “We are very disappointed with the verdict. As legal professionals, we believe the court should be fair to all, regardless of nationality,” his attorneys said in a statement, according to CNN. “The court completely ignored all of the defense’s evidence and, more importantly, , the guilty plea. This contradicts existing legal practice. Given the value of the matter (not counting the flaws in the expert opinion) and the appeal, the sentence is absolutely unreasonable. We will definitely appeal.”

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