Brittney Griner was freed from prison in Russia and on her way home Thursday, President Joe Biden said at the White House.
The United States agreed to release imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, Biden said, in a swap of prisoners that ends 10 months of detainment for Griner.
Photo: EPA-EFE
"Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home," Biden said. "Held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. This is a day we worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations."
From Russia, Griner landed in the UAE, Biden said Thursday.
"These past few months have been hell for Brittney and (wife) Cherelle," Biden said. "She's relieved to finally be heading home. The fact remains she's lost months of her love. She deserves space, privacy and time with her loved ones to recover and heal."
A two-time Gold medalist and active WNBA player with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner was detained at a Moscow airport on February 10. She admitted in a courtroom to bringing marijuana vape cartridges in her luggage, which was prescribed by her doctor.
"She wrote to me back in July, she didn't ask for special treatment," Biden said. "She requested a simple quote, 'Please don't forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.' We've never forgotten about Brittney."
Griner was convicted for criminal drug possession and sentenced to more than nine years in prison. Last month, Russian officials informed Griner's attorney she was relocated to a penal colony, where forced labor shifts for prisoners commonly last between 12 and 14 hours per day.
The deal to free Griner had been negotiated for several months. Russia's deputy foreign minister claimed that there was renewed "activity" in negotiations to free Griner one week before Thanksgiving. The US publicly denied those talks were active.
In initial public disclosures about negotiations, US officials insisted on the release of Michigan corporate security officer Paul Whalen, jailed since December 2018 in Russia on espionage charges. But the White House described the prisoner swap confirmed Thursday as "1 for 1," Bout for Griner.
Bout is a former Soviet Army lieutenant sentenced to 25 years for conspiring to sell tens of millions of dollars in arms that US officials said were used against Americans.
The 2022 WNBA season begins May 19.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, would allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as Feb. 6. The immense orange and white SLS rocket, and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved 6.5km to Launch Pad 39B. If the
RSS