WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia frees WNBA star Brittney Griner US and Russian officials said on Thursday in a dramatic high-profile prisoner exchange, with the United States releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap, at a time of rising tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but came at a heavy cost – and left an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia.
The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, resulted in the release of the most famous American detained abroad. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who spent months in prison for drug offenses has brought unprecedented attention to the community of those who were unjustly incarcerated.
Biden’s authorization of the release of a Russian criminal once nicknamed the “Death Trader” underscores the growing pressure his administration faces to bring Griner home, particularly after her criminal case was solved recently and she was then transferred to a penal colony.
The swap was confirmed by US officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations, who were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly before the White House announcement and release. expression on condition of anonymity. Biden was on the phone with Griner on Thursday while her wife, Cherelle, was in the Oval Office. The President will address reporters in the morning.
Biden said in a speech from the White House on Thursday that the “last few months have been hell for Brittney” but she is in good spirits.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the exchange, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the exchange took place in Abu-Dhabi and that Bout had been brought home.
Russian and US officials have conveyed cautious optimism in recent weeks after months of intense negotiations, with Biden saying in November that he hoped that Russia would enter into a deal by now. hours when the midterm elections have been completed. A top Russian official said last week that an agreement could be reached before the end of the year.
Cherelle Griner (right), wife of US women’s basketball player Brittney Griner, listens to US President Joe Biden talk about Brittney Griner’s release, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Jan. December 2022. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Even so, the fact that the deal was a one-for-one swap came as a surprise as US officials have for months expressed their determination to bring in both Griner and Paul Whelan, a retired Michigan corporate security chief. Prisoners in Russia since December 2018 returned home. of espionage that his family and the US government have said are baseless.
In releasing Bout, the United States released a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel, who the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. Bout, whose feats have inspired a Hollywood movie, is serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that US officials say will be used against American.
The Biden administration is ultimately willing to trade the Bout if it gives Griner freedom. The detention of one of the greatest players in WNBA history has contributed to an unprecedented wave of public attention to a case of individual incarceration – not to mention the intense pressure on him. with the White House.
Griner’s arrest in February made her the most famous American imprisoned abroad. Her identity as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country whose government is hostile to the LGBTQ community, infuses racial, gender, and social dynamics into the legal narrative. her management and make each development an issue of international importance.
Her case not only caused an unprecedented stir among dozens of Americans wrongly detained by foreign governments, but also emerged as a major turning point in US-Russian diplomatic relations at the time. Relations points deteriorated due to Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The exchange was made despite the deteriorating relations between the great powers. But the imprisonment of the Americans created a rare diplomatic opportunity that brought about the highest-level contact known between Washington and Moscow – a phone call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – for more than 5 months.
In an unusual move in other secret negotiations, Blinken publicly revealed in July that the United States had made an “important offer” to Russia over Griner and Whelan. Although he did not specify the terms, people familiar with the matter said the US had offered Bout.
Such a public offer has drawn fierce criticism from the Russians, who say they prefer to deal with such cases privately and risk undermining the government’s negotiating hand. the United States government on this and future agreements by making the administration appear too desperate. But the announcement is also intended to inform the public that Biden is doing what he can and to make sure to put pressure on the Russians.
In addition to the efforts of US officials, the release also comes after months of clandestine negotiations involving Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in the negotiations. hostage judge, and his top deputy was Mickey Bergman. These people have made several trips abroad in the last year to discuss exchange scenarios with Russian contacts.
Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February when customs officials said they found a vape box containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty in July, though still faces trial for admitting guilt in Russia’s justice system doesn’t automatically close a case.
She admitted in court that she was in possession of the boxes, but said she had no intention of committing a crime and said they were in her luggage because she packed it in a hurry.
Before being sentenced on August 4 and receiving a punishment her attorney deemed inappropriate for the offence, Griner emotionally apologized “for the mistake I have made and the shame that I have caused.” I caused them.” She added: “I hope in your judgment it doesn’t end my life.”
Her supporters have largely remained silent for weeks after her arrest, but that approach changed in May after the State Department designated her an illegal detainee. . A separate transaction, Trevor Reed, a former Marine for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in the US in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, has fueled hopes that such deals might be perform.
Whelan has been detained in Russia since December 2018. The US government also classifies him as falsely detained. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan was not included in the prisoner exchange in Reed, which increased pressure on the Biden administration to ensure that any deal that brought Griner home included him.
Top stories from FOX Sports:
Get more from the National Women’s Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get game info, news and more
