Brittney Griner plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. She was released in a prisoner exchange this morning after having been detained in Russia since Feb. 17.
After 294 days in Russian jails, WNBA star Brittney Griner is on her way home.
President Joe Biden tweeted this morning (Thursday, Dec. 8): “I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.” Photos show the president and Griner’s wife, Cherelle, talking to Griner on speaker phone as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken stand nearby, watching the call.
Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine accused of spying by Russian authorities remains in prison there after having been sentenced in 2020 to 16 years. Blinken said U.S. officials “will not relent in our efforts” to bring Whelan home as well.
Russia released Griner in exchange for the U.S. returning to them Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer who has been in prison in the U.S. for 15 years. The exchange is reportedly the result of mediation efforts by the United Arab Emirate and Saudi Arabia.
Griner, a native of Houston, was arrested last February 17 on charges of smuggling drugs into Russia. She was arrested at the airport when she arrived in Moscow to play basketball there and authorities searching her luggage found two vape cartridges containing hashish oil. Griner admitted she had the oil, but her lawyers have noted that doctors in the U.S. had prescribed cannabis for the athlete two years ago for her chronic pain.
The cartridges she was carrying are legal in the U.S. but not in Russia, and in pleading guilty to the charges earlier this year in a Russian court, Griner said having them in her luggage was an honest mistake.
— Tammye Nash
