Reddit Brittney Griner Released From Jail In Swap For Viktor Bout

Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, was released from a Russian jail on 29th November 2022 following an exchange with Viktor Bout, a notorious arms dealer and the alleged “Merchant of Death.” 

President Joe Biden praised Griner upon her release and announced it to the United States while Moscow acknowledged the swap which took place in Abu Dhabi.

Her story has inspired many Americans who have sympathized with her case since her first arrest back in September 2016.

Griner has been in the spotlight recently. After experiencing trauma while detained at a Moscow airport on drug charges in February,

She was released on Saturday following International Women’s Day activities with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion, and LGBT icon reportedly appeared to be doing well emotionally as she prepared to return home.

Unfortunately, another American held in Russia – Paul Whelan – did not have such luck and was not included in the prisoner exchange that secured Griner’s release. 

Whelan expressed his immense disappointment to news outlets after being detained since 2018 and accused of spying. Clearly, Griner’s happy ending is sadly out of reach for everyone else who remains in detention.

‘I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,’ Whelan told the US television network in a phone call from the Russian penal colony where he is imprisoned. 

Biden pledged to continue to seek Whelan’s freedom, saying, ‘we will never give up.Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,’ he said.

Griner received a nine-year prison term in August after being found guilty of possessing vape cartridges containing minor cannabis oil. 

According to Biden, Griner’s release was the product of painful and strenuous discussions, who also noted that she would need some time to heal from the anguish of having been wrongfully jailed.

At the White House, Biden made the announcement alongside Cherelle Griner, the wife of Griner, Kamala Harris, and Antony Blinken, the secretary of state. 

Cherelle Griner remarked, ‘I’m just standing here, overcome with emotions,’ calling her wife’s detention one of the worst days of my life.

“Today my family is entire, but as you all are aware there are so many more families who are not whole,” she added, acknowledging Whelan’s fate.

Griner has been a women’s professional league star for ten years. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert expressed relief at Griner’s release, calling it a”collective wave of joy and relief.

`Congratulations to @POTUS and his administration for the difficult diplomatic work necessary to make it happen,’ former president Barack Obama tweeted. 

In a public statement, Biden thanked the United Arab Emirates for facilitating Griner’s release. 

According to the statement, Griner and Bout were transported to Abu Dhabi by private aircraft and exchanged in the presence of professionals from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Within a day, Griner should be back in the country, according to Biden. 

Although she admitted guilt, she maintained that she had no intention of breaking the law or using illegal chemicals in Russia. 

Griner testified that a US doctor had given her the go-ahead to use medicinal cannabis to treat the pain from her numerous wounds. 

Russia forbids the use of medical marijuana.