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 nearly 10 months of detainment for Griner.
Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner.
She is safe.
She is on a plane.
She is on her way home. pic.twitter.com/FmHgfzrcDT— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2022
“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, 32, landed in the United Arab Emirates, where she boarded a plane for the United States.
“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 life. She deserves space, privacy and time with her loved ones to recover and heal.”
A two-time Olympic gold medalist and active WNBA player with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner was detained at an airport near Moscow on Feb. 17. She admitted in a courtroom to bringing marijuana vape cartridges in her luggage, as 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 of criminal drug possession and sentenced to more than nine years in prison. Last month, Russian officials informed Griner’s attorney she had been relocated to a penal colony, where forced labor shifts for prisoners commonly last between 12 and 14 hours per day.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert issued a statement Thursday.
“There has not been a day over the past ten months where we all haven’t had Brittney Griner on our minds and in our hearts and that has now turned into a collective wave of joy and relief knowing that she will soon be reunited with her family, the WNBA player community, and her friends. BG has shown extraordinary courage and dignity in the face of enormous adversity. The WNBA is grateful beyond measure to the Biden Administration, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and all those who played a role in bringing BG home today. Our hope is that Paul Whelan and every wrongfully detained American will be returned home safely and as soon as possible.”
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 U.S. publicly denied those talks were active.
In initial public disclosures about negotiations, U.S .officials insisted on the release of Michigan corporate security officer Paul Whelan, jailed since December 2018 in Russia on espionage charges. But the White House described the prisoner swap confirmed Thursday as “one for one,” Bout for Griner.
Bout is a former Soviet Army lieutenant was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years for conspiring to sell tens of millions of dollars in arms that U.S. officials said were used against Americans.
Flanked by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, a grateful Cherelle Griner thanked their administration for their efforts and committed to future work to help bring home wrongly detained prisoners.
“B.G. is not here to say this, but I will gladly speak on her behalf and say that B.G. and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul [Whelan], whose family is in our hearts today,” she said. “… We do understand that there are still people out here who are enduring what I endured the last nine months of missing tremendously their loved ones.”
Words of support for Griner began to flow on Twitter Thursday morning from her fellow WNBA players.
Said Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart: “BG is FREE!!! 294 days and she is coming home!!!”
The 2022 WNBA season begins May 19.
–Field Level Media
