Follow usWNBA star Brittney Griner was released from custody in Russia today in a “one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout,” U.S. president Joe Biden confirmed.
Biden is expected to speak on the issue at 8:30am ET at the White House.
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.
Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison following a conviction for drug smuggling in August.
The double-Olympic winner was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February when cannabis oil vapes were found in her bags.
The 32-year-old was then transferred to a Russian penal colony after an appeal of her conviction was denied Oct. 25.
Sources said that the exchange agreement “negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by President Biden within just the last week.”
The swap took place today in the United Arab Emirates. A White House official said that Biden “was in the Oval Office Thursday morning on the phone, speaking with Griner and her wife, and that Vice President Kamala Harris was also in the room”.
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