WNBA Star Brittney Griner Doing ‘Ok’ In Extended Detention In Russia Full view INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 06: Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury is seen during the game against the Indiana Fever at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on September 6, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
The White House struck a deal with Moscow to release WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian custody, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday. The United States sent arms trafficker Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange.
“Moments ago, standing together with her wife, Cherelle [Griner], in the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittney Griner,” Biden said from the White House. “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances.”
IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED THIS YEAR!
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
The prisoner swap ends a 10-month ordeal for Griner, who was arrested in February at an airport for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. In August, she was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony.
The deal with Russia didn’t include the release of former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained for almost four years. He was arrested at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 on espionage charges. He was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He denies the allegations.
In a statement, Whelan’s family praised Griner’s release but said they were “devasted” that he was left behind. In September, Biden vowed to bring both Griner and Whelan back home.
“I can’t even fathom how Paul will feel when he learns. Paul has worked so hard to survive nearly four years of this injustice. His hopes had soared with the knowledge that the US government was taking concrete steps for once toward his release. He’d been worrying about where he’d live when he got back to the U.S.,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said in a statement.
Biden said that the former Marine was not forgotten but said Russia is treating Whelan’s case differently.
“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whalen, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years. This was not a choice of which American to bring home. We brought home Trevor Reed when we had a chance earlier this year. Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” Biden said Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned noncompete agreements in a 3-2 vote. The…
A proposed bill in California would prohibit security screening company CLEAR from skipping the general…
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a challenge to a law allowing…
The Arizona House of Representatives failed to advance a repeal of the state's 160-year-old abortion…
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill restoring criminal charges in cases of hard drug possession.…
President Joe Biden's administration announced the first-ever national limits on toxic "forever chemicals" in drinking water. This…