Brittney Griner freed in US-Russia prisoner swap, Biden says

US President Joe Biden said on December 8 that basketball player Brittney Griner has been released from Russian custody and is “on her way home”, following US-Russia prisoner exchange. The WNBA star was swapped for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been serving a minimum 25 years’ imprisonment at a penitentiary in Illinois. The swap took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, CBS reported. Photos released via the president’s office were described as showing Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Griner’s wife Cherelle speaking to Griner on the phone in the Oval Office. Paul Whelan, who has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for a longer time than Griner, still has yet to be up for release.

Credit: President Biden via Storyful