Jakarta –
US basketball starHOW) Brittney Griner released after being arrested by Russia on alleged drug charges. He was released after negotiations and a prisoner swap with a Russian arms dealer.
According to AFP, on Friday (9/12/2022), Griner (32) was arrested in Russia last February on drug charges. Meanwhile, Viktor Bout (55), was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States. The two exchanged at Abu Dhabi airport on Thursday (8/12).
In footage released by Russian state media, Griner, with his dreadlocks shaved off, and a relaxed and excited Bout can be seen crossing the runway on the airport runway and making their way to their return plane.
US President Joe Biden announced Griner’s release in a speech at the White House. “He’s safe. He’s on the plane. He’s going home,” he said.
The president said he spoke to her and that he was “in good spirits” after suffering “needless trauma”.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion and LGBT pioneer, was arrested at a Moscow airport nine months ago amid rising tensions in Ukraine.
He was accused of possessing vape cartridges with small amounts of cannabis oil and was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.
Meanwhile, Bout, accused of arming rebels in some of the bloodiest conflicts in the world, was arrested in a US raid on Thailand in 2008, extradited to the United States and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012.
Meanwhile, another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, did not participate in Thursday’s exchange and told CNN he was “very disappointed”. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and charged with espionage.
“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,” Whelan told US television networks by phone from the Russian prison where he is being held.
Biden vowed to free Whelan, saying “we will never give up.”
“Unfortunately, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” he said.
Regarding Griner’s release, Biden said that “this is a day we’ve been working on for a long time. It’s going to take intense, grueling negotiations.”
See also the video ‘Putin drives a car in the Crimean war area’:
(aik/aik)
