Imprisoned WNBA Star Brittney Griner RELEASED From Russian Jail In High-Profile Prisoner Swap
Imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from Russian jail in a high-profile prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
Griner’s release comes nearly one year after she was first taken into police custody in February after arriving in Moscow. Authorities claimed they found vape cannisters with marijuana oil in her luggage.
"She is safe, she is on a plane, she is on her way home," President Joe Biden announced on Thursday morning from the White House. "She will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along."
"I'm proud that today we have made one more family whole," Biden continued, adding that he will continue to work to free Paul Whelan, another American still in Russian custody. "We’ll keep negotiating for Paul’s relief. I guarantee it."
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, was reportedly in the Oval Office with President Biden and was able to speak to her 32-year-old WNBA star wife via telephone.
Cherelle also expressed her "sincere gratitude" to the president and to the other Biden Administration officials who worked to get Griner home.
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According to a senior administration official, Biden negotiated for Griner’s release in exchange for the release of a Russian arms dealer.
After President Biden signed off on the swap, the trade took place in the United Arab Emirates.
Griner is now being flown to a medical facility in San Antonio where her wife, Cherelle, will meet her.
According to NBC News, the Russian released in exchange for Griner’s freedom was Viktor Bout, an arms dealer who had been imprisoned in the United States for 11 years after being sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1997.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Griner was first arrested in February on drug charges. She was found guilty of the charges in August, and sentenced to nine years behind bars.
After failing to appeal her nine-year sentence in October, Griner was set to be moved to a Russian penal colony, IK-2 – a penal colony described as “hellish” and prone to “slave-like conditions.”
Griner’s release also comes after months of President Biden’s determination to get the 32-year-old basketball star home.
“I’m telling you, I am determined to get her home and get her home safely — along with others, I might add,” Biden said on November 9, one month before Griner’s successful release.
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