Joe Biden says Brittney Griner is ‘on her way home’ after release from ‘hell’ of Russian prison
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WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained for months in Russia over drug charges, was reportedly released Thursday in a prisoner swap for a notorious international arms dealer, according to a US official, CBS News reported.
In the one-for-one swap, the US had reportedly been negotiating with Moscow for weeks to send arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the 32-year-old American basketball player.
US President Joe Biden reportedly gave his final approval in the deal within the past week, CBS first reported, and took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.
“She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” said Mr Biden in a tweet confirming her release, adding later during an address that she was in “good spirits”.
“After months of being unjustly held in Russia she will soon be in the arms of her loved ones,” said the president from the White House.
Five former US officials confirmed to the news outlet that the deal had been reached as of last Thursday.
Ms Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in July before being sentenced to nine years behind bars the following month.
Watch: Biden says Griner in ‘good spirits’ after prisoner swap with Russia
Joe Biden says Brittney Griner is ‘on her way home’ after release from ‘hell’ of Russian prison
‘This was not a choice of which American to bring home’: Biden addresses Paul Whelan in statement on Griner’s release
President Joe Biden reaffirmed his administration’s committment to securing the release of Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia since December 2018,
“This was not a choice of which american to bring home,” said the US president, adding that “for totally illigitimate reasons Russia has treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s”.
The commander in chief added that he and his administration remain committed to negotiating for Mr Whelan’s release, who had been floated as being part of the prisoner swap with Ms Griner and Viktor Bout months earlier when it was first reported. “
“We will never give up,” he said, while acknowledging how today would be a day for Mr Whelan’s family where they were likely having “mixed emotions”.
“We’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release, I guarantee that.”
Cherelle Griner says she’s ‘overwhelmed with emotions’ as her ‘family is whole again'
Cherelle Griner began her address by thanking President Joe Bide, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Anthony Blinken, the Phoenix Merucy players - where Brittney Griner plays - alongside many other individuals.
“Today my family is whole,” said Ms Cherelle, adding that she and “BG” remain committed to helping other families who are enduring what she endured the last nine months in missing her wife.
“Today is just a happy day for me and my family”.
‘Welcome home Brittney’: Joe Biden thanks UAE for assisting in negotiation as he says Griner is ‘relieved to finally be heading home’
“Moments ago standing together with her wife Cherelle, I spoke with Brittney Griner,” said President Joe Biden as he made a statement on Brittney Griner release in prisoner swap with Russia.
“After months of being unjustly held in Russia she will soon be in the arms of her loved ones,” said president Biden, noting that “this is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time”.
“It took painstaking and intense negotiations,” said Mr Biden, while thanking his public servants who worked “tirelessly to secure her release.”
Watch: Joe Biden makes statement after Brittney Griner released in prisoner swap with Russia
American Paul Whelan, detained in Russia for four years, not included in prisoner swap
While American basketball star Brittney Griner was said to be on her way home after being detained in Russian prisons for the past ten months, fellow detained American - Paul Whelan - was not included in Thursday’s prisoner swap with international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the US government has said are baseless.
What happened to Brittney Griner to be arrested in Russia?
On 17 Februrary, WNBA star Brittney Griner, 32, was detained in Russia after illegal cannibas oil was allegedly found in her luggage by officials at a Moscow airport.
Her detainment occurred shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly more difficult to secure her release.
Ms Griner’s family, friends and fans – alongside many public figures – called on Russia to free her for months and for the US State Department to intervene.
She pleaded guilty to drug charges in July before being sentenced to nine years behind bars the following month.
On Thursday, it was announced that Washington had successfully negotiated a prisoner swap with Moscow and that Ms Griner was “safe” and on her way home.
Here, we break down everything that has happened to the WNBA star over these past 10 months.
The basketball star has been detained in Moscow for five months and counting
President Joe Biden has spoken with WNBA star, wife
President Joe Biden has spoken with Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, on Thursday morning inside the Oval Office.
Vice President Kamala Harris was also reportedly in the room at the time of the phone call.
In a tweet, the US president enthusiastically shared the news of the successful exchange, writing: “she is safe.”
Brittney Griner swapped in one-for-one prisoner exchange
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who the US government says has been “wrongfully detained” since her 17 February arrest at a Moscow airport, is on her way home after American officials engineered her release in a prisoner swap.
US officials have said Ms Griner was freed in exchange for the US releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout following months of talks between Washington and Moscow over the basketball star’s fate.
Andrew Feinberg has more here in this breaking news report.