After the United States, shocking prisoner swap with Russia's Viktor Bout, American Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Brittney Griner was finally back on U.S. soil after being unlawfully detained for nearly a year.
The athlete landed in her home state of Texas after being detained in a Russian prison for carrying cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February. American officials flew Griner into San Antonio where she is expected to be given medical care.
Brittney Griner's Release
In a statement on Friday morning, the White House's John Kirby said that Griner was in "good spirits" and "good health." Previously, United States President Joe Biden first announced that the WNBA star was going back home in a Thursday statement.
Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, who attended the Democratic president's announcement at the White House, was expected to meet her spouse in San Antonio. In a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the WNBA star had to endure an unimaginable situation in Russia, as per BBC.
The WNBA athlete is one of the most famous sportswomen in the United States and was the star center for the Phoenix Mercury and is known as a double Olympic champion. She flew to Moscow as she was set to play in Russia during the off-season in the U.S.
During Griner's trial in Russia, she said that the cannabis oil found in her bag had been an "honest mistake." in July, the Biden administration proposed a prisoner exchange as they were aware that Moscow had long been seeking the release of Bout, a convicted arms trafficker most known under the moniker "Merchant of Death."
According to CNN, many shared their reactions to Griner coming home to the U.S., including a State Department official traveling with the athlete, Roger Carstens. The official said that he was extremely happy to have Griner back on U.S. soil.
Other American Prisoners
The Russian prisoner's commutation was finalized only after American officials saw Griner on Thursday on the Abu Dhabi airport tarmac where the exchange occurred. The exchange occurred as President Biden signed Bout's official commutation on Dec. 2, as revealed by a document posted on the Justice Department's website.
While the prisoner exchange was a happy and momentous occasion for many of Griner's family and supporters, it was not a sign of improvement in U.S.-Russia relations, said the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday.
Griner's situation played out against the backdrop of Russia's continued aggression in Ukraine, adding further concern to other Americans under Russian custody. These include Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran whose release could not be secured in the latest prisoner exchange.
In exchange for Whelan, Moscow wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, one of Russia's assassins who is currently jailed in Germany. He was known to have murdered a Chechen fighter in a park in Berlin in broad daylight in 2019. The attack was a brazen killing that the German authorities said was committed at the behest of Russia's intelligence services, the New York Times reported.
