On Thursday, December 8, 2022, President Joe Biden announced WNBA Basketball star and “unjustly detained” Russian prisoner Brittney Griner has been released. The release was due to a prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“She’s safe; she’s on a plane; she’s on her way home,” the President stated. “After being detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should’ve been there all along.” After speaking with Griner, Biden said she is in “good spirits.”
“This is a day we’ve been working toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstakingly intense negotiations,” Biden added.
He noted Trevor Reed, a 30-year-old U. S. Marine veteran, who was released in a prisoner swap with Russia in April.
The President also said the U. S. has not given up on Paul Whelan, a Michigan Corporate Security Executive, who has been jailed in Russia since 2018, on espionage charges. “Sadly, for illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s….”We are not giving up. We will never give up.”
Griner had been held in Russia since February, when she was detained in Moscow, after being found carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison.