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Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange

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Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange​


Russia has freed Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange that brings the WNBA star back to the United States after almost 10 months' detention. The swap, made at a time of heightened tensions over the invasion of Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden but carried a heavy price and left behind Paul Whelan, an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia. Brittney Griner was expected to be back in the U.S. within 24 hours, Biden said. U.S. officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling but declined to go into specifics, citing privacy concerns. A source told ESPN's T.J. Quinn that Griner will go first to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. According to ABC News, Griner could arrive either Thursday night or Friday morning. The detention of one of the greatest players in WNBA history contributed to a swirl of unprecedented public attention for an individual detainee -- not to mention intense pressure on the White House.

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Biden spoke with Griner on the phone Thursday while her wife, Cherelle, was in the Oval Office. In an address from the White House, Biden said these "past few months have been hell for Brittney" but that she was in good spirits." This is a day we've worked toward for a long time," Biden said. "We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations, and I want to thank all the hardworking public servants across my administration who worked tirelessly to secure her release." The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad. Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose monthslong imprisonment on drug charges brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees. In releasing Bout, the U.S. freed a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world's most prolific arms dealers. Bout, whose exploits inspired a Hollywood movie, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S. officials said were to be used against Americans.
 

Paul Whelan's Brother Says Biden Made Right Call Releasing Brittney Griner​


The brother of detained American Paul Whelan has said he believes President Joe Biden made the right call in securing the release of women's basketball star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap. David Whelan spoke on Thursday about Griner's release and the fact that his brother Paul, a former U.S. Marine, is still being detained in Russia, despite hopes he might be released along with Griner. Speaking to CNN, David Whelan said he was "absolutely supportive" of the Biden administration's decision to bring Griner home." I think to prolong the punishment of one American in a foreign hostage situation in the hope that you might be able to bring home two of them is absolutely the wrong call for the U.S. president to make," Whelan said. "An American in that situation who has a possibility of coming home... I think the U.S. president has to bring them home," Whelan added. "And unfortunately for my brother and for our family, it's not our family member, but I think from the perspective of Americans, that's the right decision."

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Brittney Griner lands in Texas, takes first steps in U.S.​


Brittney Griner, the American basketball star detained by Russian authorities in February, has safely returned to the US after being released from custody in a prisoner exchange, according to a CNN crew on the ground. A person who appeared to be Griner stepped off the plane shortly after 5:30 a.m. ET Friday at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, according to the CNN crew. Her release was secured after a prisoner swap between the US and Russia that involved international arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested in 2008 in Thailand and extradited to the US in 2010.

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Brittney Griner Swap Puts Spotlight on Americans in Russia​


After almost 10 months of war, sanctions, nuclear threats and the constant monitoring of the Russian security state, some American and European citizens continue to live and work in Russia, drawn in many cases by professional opportunities and higher salaries. Some Western athletes, businesspeople and artists chose to stay even as the Russian authorities arrested and jailed the American basketball player Brittney Griner in February on a minor drug charge. On Thursday, she was freed and sent back to the United States in a prisoner exchange for a notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, in a move that some Republican politicians and analysts have said puts other Americans at risk of being wrongfully detained for political gain. Ms. Griner’s detention has injected a complex new factor into the calculation of whether to travel to, or work in, Russia, an already fraught decision with the war in Ukraine as a backdrop. More than 1,000 multinational companies have curtailed their operations in Russia since the invasion, with foreign managers often being the first to go. Most Western universities have halted student exchange programs with Russian peers. And most major European and American cultural institutions have ended collaborations with Russian theaters and museums, including the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, two of the world’s most storied houses for opera and ballet.

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Brittney Griner is 'getting appropriate mental health care' in Texas for 'reintegration back into American society,' White House says​


  • Brittney Griner is getting mental healthcare at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.
  • A White House official said Griner is working on her "reintegration back into American society."
  • Griner was serving a 9-year sentence in Russia until the US agreed to a prisoner swap last week.
Brittney Griner is receiving mental and physical health care in Texas after arriving back on American soil last week, a White House spokesperson said Sunday. After nine months in Russian custody, Griner touched down in San Antonio, Texas early Friday morning. The WNBA star was flown to the US Army's Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, where she was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for treatment, according to The New York Times.

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Brittney Griner was detained in Russia on Feb. 17 on accusations that she had hashish oil in her luggage.
 

New images reveal Brittney Griner's life in Russian penal colony​


WNBA star Brittney Griner was released following a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout last week. Now, newly released images and video show the harsh conditions the Houston native faced during her brief time serving out her sentence for drug possession in one of Russia's notorious penal colonies. In an article by Radio Free Europe listing horrors shared by former inmates that served in Mordovia's penal colonies, Gelena Alekseyeva, a former deputy minister for investment in Saratov Oblast, explained how far prisoners are willing to go to avoid ending up there: "When the girls find out that they're going to Mordovia, they cut their wrists, do everything possible: get sick, swallow nails, just so they don't have to go there." Notably, a popular saying among inmates according to Alekseyeva is: "If you haven't done time in Mordovia, you haven't done time."

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Brittney Griner says she plans to play WBNA basketball next season​


Brittney Griner said she's "grateful" to be back in the United States and plans on playing basketball again next season for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. Her comments came a week after she was released from a Russian prison, freed in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange. "It feels so good to be home!" Griner posted to Instagram on Friday in her first public statement since her release. "The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help." Griner also thanked the military staff and medical team in Texas, where she was receiving care after returning to the U.S. last week. She wrote that she would "transition home to enjoy the holidays with my family" but did not say where. While WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she was going to give Griner all the time she needed to decide whether she wanted to play basketball again, Griner made it clear that: "I intend to play basketball for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say 'thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon."

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Brittney Griner’s Wife Opens Up About Her Tearful Return From Russian Imprisonment​


Cherelle Griner is reflecting on her wife, Britney Griner, returning home after the NBA star spent months incarcerated in a Russian prison. In an interview with People Magazine, Cherelle recalled her emotional reunion with her wife, Britney, after they had spent nearly a year apart due to the NBA star being detained in a Russian prison on drug charges. “We were both just instantly crying,” she said, recalling the moment she saw Brittney through the plane’s window as it landed. “I was standing there full of tears, and someone ran over and handed me a handkerchief. I definitely needed it.”

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Last month in her first appearance, Griner was at the Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Phoenix.

WNBA star Brittany Griner attended the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament Saturday in what is believed to be her second public appearance since her release from a Russian prison. Griner was part of a crowd of about 200,000 fans at the tournament, watching the action from the stadium 16th hole. Last month in her first appearance, Griner was at the Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Phoenix. Griner is skipping the USA Basketball training camp in Minnesota so she can be with her wife and continue to recover. In a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange in December, Griner was brought back to the United States after almost 10 months' detention.

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Brittney Griner returns to Phoenix Mercury on 1-year deal​


After being detained for 10 months in Russia, Brittany Griner fulfilled the promise she made to play for the Phoenix Mercury again in the 2023 season. Griner, a 32-year-old free agent, signed a one-year, $165,100 contract with the Mercury on Saturday, a source confirmed to ESPN. She'll return to the team that drafted her first overall in 2013 for a 10th season. The last time Griner suited up for the Mercury was in 2021, when she led them on an unexpected run to the WNBA Finals, which Phoenix lost to the Chicago Sky. She missed the 2022 WNBA season while in detention in Russia.

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Brittney Griner officially re-signs with Phoenix Mercury​


Free agent Brittney Griner, who was detained for 10 months in Russia before her release in a high-profile prisoner swap, has officially been re-signed by the Phoenix Mercury, the team announced Tuesday. Sources told ESPN that the one-year deal is for $165,100. Griner, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. The U.S. State Department had declared Griner to be "wrongfully detained."

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