Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, was detained in Russia in February 2022 after authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.

She was charged with drug smuggling and possession, leading to a conviction and a nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.

Griner's arrest occurred during a tense period in U.S.-Russia relations, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and her detention was seen by many as politically motivated.

government labeling her detention as "wrongful" and using her case to highlight the broader issue of Americans being used as political pawns.

The Biden administration faced intense pressure to secure her release, with numerous organizations and public figures advocating for her freedom.

She was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, where conditions were reportedly grim, with limited access to basic amenities like hot water and adequate sanitation.

Despite these challenges, Griner attempted to remain resilient and adapt to her environment.

Efforts to secure Griner's release culminated in a high-profile prisoner swap in December 2022, where she was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer.

This exchange was controversial, with some critics arguing that it set a dangerous precedent for future negotiations involving American detainees abroad.

Upon her return to the U.S., Griner underwent a routine evaluation at a Texas Army medical center and began the process of readjusting to life at home.

She expressed gratitude for the support she received during her ordeal and announced plans to share her story in a memoir, aiming to raise awareness about other Americans detained overseas.

Griner also re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury and resumed her basketball career, using her platform to thank those who advocated for her release.

Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, was detained in Russia in February 2022 after authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.

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Content: The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.

American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February. She has been facing drug possession charges for carrying vape cartridges in her luggage that contained cannabis oil. The charges carry a potential sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges in Russian court Thursday, while stressing that she had packed in a hurry and not intended to break Russian law. Regardless of Thursday’s plea, observers have not expected Griner to receive justice in the Russian legal system.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, has accurately called her a “political pawn” caught up in the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Russia amid the latter’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. There should be little doubt that Griner’s detention is bigger than vape cartridges.

With frustrations increasingly being voiced by Griner’s family that President Joe Biden and his administration haven’t been doing enough to help her, Griner sent a letter to Biden on Monday asking for assistance for herself and other American detainees. For example, Paul Whelan, who also previously served in the Marines, was accused of being a spy and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote in her July 4 letter to Biden.

Marine veteran Trevor Reed knows a thing or two about what Griner and Whelan are going through. Reed was detained in Russia for three years before being released in April as part of a prisoner exchange.

“There is no justice in Russia,” Reed told CNN in June. “Brittney and Paul will not receive justice in Russia. They’re not going to receive a fair trial, they will not receive a fair investigation. They will be there as hostages until the United States gets them out.”

He added that Griner was likely to be treated worse in Russia because of her race and sexual orientation, saying that the country “systematically discriminates” against Black and LGBTQ+ people.

There is only so much the Biden administration can do with Griner in the custody of an authoritarian government known for making examples out of political prisoners, and likely looking for a bargaining chip as it continues its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Though as demonstrated by Reed’s release, there are options. It must not take three years.

At the very least, for now, Biden and his team can control how they communicate and reassure Griner’s family. And on that front, it seems the administration had been coming up short.

Griner’s family and friends had criticized the Biden administration’s handling of her case, and called for the president to meet with them. On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris finally had a phone call with Cherelle Griner.

“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement after the call. “He also read her a draft of the letter the president is sending to Brittney today.”

That statement also noted that top administration officials have already had calls with Cherelle Griner in recent weeks, and said Biden has directed his national security team to stay in “regular contact” with the Griner family. A U.S. diplomat said they delivered Biden’s letter to Griner at Thursday’s proceedings.

Biden’s call with Griner’s wife was an initial step, and the ultimate goal must be a quick release for Griner and other political prisoners. There is much work left for the administration to do, including a continual commitment to assure Griner’s family that the U.S. is exploring all possible options to secure her release. And hopefully the attention will elevate the pressure to help return other Americans like Whelan as well.

“Write them, call them, annoy them, don’t leave them alone,” Reed said in June about pressuring federal representatives to act. “Tell them you want Brittney home and you want the rest of the Americans who are being wrongfully detained home, and you want it done now.”

Add us to the list of people looking to raise the pressure on the Biden administration to bring home wrongfully detained Americans like Griner, who are essentially hostages, and to bring them home quickly.

The BDN Editorial Board

The Bangor Daily News editorial board members are Publisher Richard J. Warren, Editorial Page Editor Susan Young, Assistant Editorial Page Editor Matt Junker and BDN President Todd Benoit. Young has worked...

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Brittney Griner Is Ready to Tell Her ‘Unfathomable’ Story in New Memoir

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will finally tell the story of her Russian detainment.

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Ahead of her return to the WNBA, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has confirmed that she will tell the true story behind her wrongful detainment in Russia. According to The Associated Press, on Tuesday, the eight-time all-star announced that she is working on a memoir about her imprisonment. It is currently scheduled for release in spring 2024.

In February 2022, Griner was stopped in a Moscow airport when the police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The WNBA champion was charged with drug smuggling and possession. After a short trial, the basketball star was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. Just as she was beginning her sentence in a labor camp, in December 2022 the U.S. and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange, with Griner coming home, while convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was released into Russian custody.

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“That day (in February) was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said in a statement released by Alfred A. Knopf.

When she was arrested, Griner was headed back to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the professional team she played for there. Most top WNBA stars play overseas the rest of the year, as they don’t earn much money competing in the United States.

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“The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud,” she said. “After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist went on to say that she hopes “her book would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas.” In December 2022, the Baylor alum announced on Instagram that she planned to play during the upcoming season, writing, “I also want to make one thing very clear: 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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In February, Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury for a one-year deal. She will make her 2023 season debut on the road on Friday, May 19 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

She was charged with drug smuggling and possession, leading to a conviction and a nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.

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Content: Skip to main content

Russian court sentences Brittney Griner to 9 years, raising pressure on Biden

A Russian court Thursday sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony after convicting her on a drug charge, a harsh penalty that keeps her fate entwined with the geopolitical showdown over the war in Ukraine and ramps up already intense pressure on President Joe Biden to win her release.

The U.S. government contends that she is among several Americans who have been “wrongfully detained” by Russia, used as bargaining chips in the increasingly hostile relationship between Moscow and Washington. The Biden administration has offered a prisoner swap involving Griner, but Russian officials said it was premature to discuss a deal while her case was underway.

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Now that the trial is concluded, Biden faces a difficult choice between standing firm on his proposal to trade for Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, or sweetening the offer somehow, with either position liable to draw domestic criticism.

Meanwhile the Kremlin can use them as leverage, with no incentive to resolve the cases quickly. Griner’s supporters, voicing horror at the verdict and sentence, are clamoring for the president to do something, while the administration is wary of giving in to Russian tactics it has all but labeled blackmail.

“My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” Biden said in a statement after the verdict.

Griner, 31, one of her sport’s biggest global stars, sat mostly expressionless, eyes downcast, leaning her long frame toward the bars of the defendant’s box in a cramped courtroom outside Moscow to hear as the words of the judge, Anna Sotnikova, were quietly translated for her. She had already pleaded guilty, and conviction is all but certain in Russian courts, so the verdict was a foregone conclusion; the real question was about sentencing.

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The answer was devastating. The sentence was near the 10-year maximum for her conviction for attempting to smuggle narcotics into the country, based on two vape cartridges containing hashish oil found in Griner’s luggage when she arrived in February, a week before President Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces to Ukraine.

She and her legal team had hoped for a more lenient penalty based on her guilty plea, her statement that she had not meant to take the cartridges to Russia, and testimony that she used the substance legally in the United States to manage pain.

“I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here,” she said before the sentencing.

She told the court that while she took responsibility for her actions, “I had no intent to break Russian law.” She said that after recovering from a bout of COVID, she had packed hurriedly to rejoin the Russian team she plays for in the WNBA offseason, and had accidentally left the cartridges in her luggage.

Griner’s defense team called the ruling “absolutely unreasonable,” said the court had “completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea,” and vowed to appeal. Elizabeth Rood, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, attended the court session and called the result “a miscarriage of justice.”

Russian officials have insisted that Griner’s case is simply the justice system running its course, with no political overtones — a claim that their U.S. counterparts and many Western analysts dismissed as absurd.

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William Pomeranz, a Russia expert and acting director of the Kennan Institute, a research group in Washington, noted that Griner was sentenced not to a prison but to a penal colony, which tends to mean a more remote location — many are in Siberia — and harsher conditions.

“She’s probably going to go to a penal colony that’s in the middle of Russia where she won’t know anybody,” he added. “They won’t be able to come and visit. Penal colonies can sometimes be very severe. It will be a tremendous test of her mental state if she ends up going to a penal colony.”

The United States has few options, he said. “It will just depend on the Russians and how fast they want to make a deal.”

Fellow basketball players, male and female, and basketball executives took to social media to voice support for Griner and grief at the verdict. Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, said in a statement: “We remain heartbroken for her, as we have every day for nearly six months. We remain grateful to and confident in the public servants working every day to return her to her family and us.”

With Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the indiscriminate destruction it has caused, relations between Washington and Moscow are more confrontational and bitter than they have been in decades. The United States has rallied the West to send arms and other aid to Ukraine, and to punish Moscow with economic sanctions, looking for opportunities to ratchet up the pressure.

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The two sides have made prisoner exchanges before, most recently in April, when Russia released Trevor Reed, an American held on what his family said was a bogus assault charge, in return for a Russian pilot convicted in the United States of cocaine trafficking charges. But rarely have proposed swaps come amid such tension, or involved anyone as prominent as Griner.

In a sign of how high the stakes are for Washington, Griner’s fate was among the topics discussed last Friday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in their first direct conversation since before the invasion.

The Biden administration has offered to trade Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence for a 2011 conviction on a federal charge of conspiring to sell weapons to people posing as terrorists intent on killing Americans. Whelan, detained in Russia since 2018, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years.

Russia made an unspecified “bad faith” counteroffer, the White House said Monday, which U.S. officials said they did not consider serious.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, told reporters Thursday, “I don’t think it would be helpful to Brittney or to Paul for us to talk more publicly about where we are in the talks and what the president might or might not be willing to do.”

“Conversations are ongoing at various levels,” he added.

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If Biden sticks to his initial offer, he could face accusations of not doing enough.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and other supporters have mounted an effective public campaign to pressure the president to win her release. Supporters worry about her treatment in a country where anti-American and anti-gay vitriol are deeply embedded in popular views and official propaganda. Images of a grim-faced Griner being led, handcuffed, in and out of court, towering over her armed guards, have become commonplace in U.S. and international media.

The administration could make a more attractive offer, but U.S. officials already worry that deals for prisoners could encourage hostile foreign governments to detain Americans on trumped-up charges in exchange for concessions like freeing their own wrongdoers. Some Republicans have already complained that Biden’s existing offer creates such an incentive.

A 6-foot-9 center, Griner won a college national championship with Baylor in 2012, a WNBA championship with the Mercury in 2014, Olympic gold medals with the U.S. team at the 2016 and 2020 games, and four EuroLeague championships with the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg. Like many players in the WNBA, where salaries are much lower than in the NBA, Griner — who also played one season for a professional team in China — has played overseas to supplement her income.

Griner's arrest occurred during a tense period in U.S.-Russia relations, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and her detention was seen by many as politically motivated.

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Content: - The Washington Times - Friday, July 1, 2022

As pressure mounts on President Biden to take more aggressive action to get Moscow to release jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner, the international chatter increasing points to a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russian media and Bout’s lawyer, Steve Zissou, say Russian officials want to secure Bout’s release and that Griner, who has been locked up in Russia since February, could be part of a deal.

“I would be surprised if any American was repatriated without Viktor Bout also being sent home to his family,” Zissou told The Washington Times.

Bout is serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison. He was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, delivering anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization, charges his lawyer disputes.

Another detained American, former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in 2018, could also be part of a prisoner swap for Bout.

Mr. Zissou said the deal would likely have to include Bout. The lawyer met last month with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, who said that freeing Bout “was Russia’s number one priority,” according to Mr. Zissou.

Griner, meanwhile, made her first appearance in court on Friday and was accused of possessing “a significant amount of cannabis oil,” which is a banned substance in Russia. She faces likely conviction and a decade in prison when her trial resumes on July 7.

Griner, 31, was arrested at the airport in Moscow on Feb. 17 for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with hashish oil. She was visiting the country to play for a Russian basketball team after the conclusion of the WNBA season.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Griner is being held as a political pawn, The Associated Press reported.

“The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited medication containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. “In view of what I’ve said, it can’t be politically motivated.”

Still, Russia’s desire to free Bout complicates matters for Mr. Biden, who is weathering intense criticism for failing to secure the release of Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Dozens of organizations, including women’s and LGBTQ groups, have pressed Mr. Biden to step up efforts to secure Griner’s release. They called on the president “to make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”

While Bout’s lawyer disputes the charges against him, Bout was convicted of far more serious crimes than Griner’s drug charge, which could make it difficult for the Biden administration to agree to a swap.

Griner’s high-profile detainment comes at a historically difficult point in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Griner was arrested just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine on February 24.

The U.S. has condemned the invasion and responded by providing Ukraine with weapons and other support to defend itself from Mr. Putin’s forces.

With Griner in detention, Russian officials are now intensifying efforts to secure the release of Bout, whose targeting and conviction by the United States has long been viewed as an attack on Russian sovereignty.

Russian media is reporting that a swap for Bout is on the table.

“Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass news reported, citing an unnamed Russian source.

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” Bout was convicted in 2011 in a U.S. government sting operation of planning to smuggle arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The witnesses hired to portray FARC told Bout the arms would be used to target U.S. military serving in Colombia.

Bout, 55, is about five years from completing his sentence and is in failing health, his lawyer said.

Mr. Zissou said he is trying to elevate the circumstances surrounding his client’s case to improve his appeal as a candidate for a prisoner swap.

The U.S. targeted Bout while he was living in Moscow and retired from running an air transport company that also smuggled arms from one country to another.

The U.S. government paid more than $10 million to criminals as part of the operation to catch Bout.

“Entrapment is exactly what happened,” Mr. Zissou said.

Mr. Zissou said exchanging Griner for Bout is “a no brainer,” because his client will be freed in a few years regardless.

Last week, Russian officials extended Griner’s pretrial detention by six months. With Russia’s acquittal rate in criminal cases at less than 1%, it’s unlikely she will be able to return to the U.S. without a prisoner exchange.

Pressure is also on Mr. Biden to also secure the release of Mr. Whelan, 52, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison camp.

“It’s certainly conceivable that a swap for Whelan and Bout gets agreed to, and then at the end of Griner’s trial, if she’s convicted, she just gets pardoned and sent home,” Mr. Zissou said.

In a statement provided to The Times, the State Department declined to provide details about the talks to free Griner.

“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” a State Department spokesman said. “The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. The U.S. government will continue to provide appropriate support to Griner and her family. We will continue to press for her release.”

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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government labeling her detention as "wrongful" and using her case to highlight the broader issue of Americans being used as political pawns.

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Content: US offers 'substantial' deal to swap Russian arms dealer for Griner, Whelan

By ANI | Published: July 28, 2022 02:38 PM 2022-07-28T14:38:16+5:30 2022-07-28T14:45:13+5:30

The United States has offered Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death" in exchange for the release of US citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, both held by Moscow.

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The United States has offered Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death" in exchange for the release of US citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, both held by Moscow.

Notably, Viktor Bout was given a 25-year prison sentence by the US in 2012.

The United States has put a "substantial proposal on the table" to facilitate the release of US citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, both held by Russia in what the US has termed "wrongful detention", US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

Blinken on Wednesday said that he would soon press for the Americans' return in his first conversation with his Moscow counterpart for the first time since the Ukraine war.

The US, for the first time, had confirmed that it had made proposals to Russia to release the American basketball star, Griner, who was detained for months in a drugs case and Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in 2016, The New York Times reported.

The notion of trading Griner for Bout surfaced in Russian news media several weeks ago. US officials would not publicly discuss the idea at the time and stressed their concern about potentially incentivizing the detention of Americans abroad by foreign actors looking to win concessions.

However, on Wednesday, State Secretary said that the two countries had "communicated repeatedly and directly" about the proposal, though he would not provide details or describe the Russian response, saying he did not want to endanger sensitive negotiations with Moscow, reported The New York Times.

CNN was the first one to break the news that the United States, in June, offered to trade. Bout for Griner and Whelan. And US President Joe Biden, who has been under growing political pressure to free the Americans, backed the offer.

Blinken further said that he expected to talk with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov in the coming days and urge him to accept the proposal. The two ministers talked to each other before the Russia-Ukraine war, in January. Blinken avoided so much as shaking Lavrov's hand at a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali earlier this month.

Biden has been under the pressure to secure the freedom of Griner in particular, whose wife, Cherelle, and several Democratic-aligned political groups have publicly urged him to strike a deal to win her release. Biden spoke to Cherelle Griner this month, according to The New York Times.

In mid-July, the Women's National Basketball Association players took to the court in Chicago at their All-star Game, wearing jerseys bearing Griner's number 42. The New York Times citing NBC News, reported that Trevor Reed, a former US Marine freed from a Russian prison in April after three years of detention, in which he said the White House was "not doing enough" to free Griner and Whelan.

In February, the Russian authorities detained Brittney Griner, on drug charges, after finding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage while she was at an airport near Moscow.

In Russia, she was stopped at an airport near Moscow and since then, her detention has been repeatedly extended. Griner's trial began on July 1 and she pleaded guilty. Her lawyers have argued that the star had a medical prescription for the hashish oil and mistakenly carried the drug into Russia.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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The Biden administration faced intense pressure to secure her release, with numerous organizations and public figures advocating for her freedom.

She was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, where conditions were reportedly grim, with limited access to basic amenities like hot water and adequate sanitation.

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Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Despite these challenges, Griner attempted to remain resilient and adapt to her environment.

Efforts to secure Griner's release culminated in a high-profile prisoner swap in December 2022, where she was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer.

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Content: Democracy Dies in Darkness

Viktor Bout says he wished Brittney Griner luck during prisoner swap

Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer swapped in a prisoner exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished the WNBA player luck as the pair briefly passed one another in Abu Dhabi last week.

“I wished her good luck, she even extended her hand,” Bout, who is nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” told Russia’s state-run RT television network Saturday. “Our tradition is to wish everyone good luck and happiness.”

Asked if Griner engaged with him during the high-level exchange, the 55-year-old said: “Yes, she did and I felt she was very positive towards me.”

Edited video clips of the pair shared by Russian state media on Thursday does not appear to show the two conversing, and Griner has not commented on the alleged interaction. In the footage, Griner can be seen flanked by three Russian men in suits and Bout accompanied by an American man in khakis. The two walk by one another on the tarmac, plane engines whirring in the background, before Bout embraces the Russian men and Griner leaves with the American.

In his Saturday interview, Bout also expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he believes Moscow should have launched action “sooner.”

“I fully support it,” he said of the war. “If I had the opportunity and the necessary skills, I would certainly volunteer.”

His interview was conducted by Marina Butina, a Russian agent convicted and jailed in the United States for conspiring to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and other organizations without registering with authorities. She was released and deported back to Russia in October 2019.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was set to play in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February. She was sentenced to 9½ years in prison after bringing vape cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage, which is illegal in Russia. Griner said it was an honest mistake and her lawyers said she had a prescription to treat chronic pain and other conditions.

Who is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer swapped for Brittney Griner?

Bout was serving a 25-year sentence at a medium-security prison in Illinois for conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and selling weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) when President Biden approved his release and commuted his sentence. The Kremlin had long called for Bout’s release, calling his conviction “unlawful.”

In a separate Friday interview with RT, also with Butina, Bout said it was difficult to describe his new freedom.

“It’s hard to even find the right words to describe it all,” he said, before adding he did not believe himself to be “any way important” to Russian politics or Putin.

“We don’t leave our own people behind, right?” he said of Russia’s fight for his release.

Russia wanted Viktor Bout back, badly. The question is: Why?

Griner touched down in San Antonio early Friday, ending a nearly 10-month saga that landed one of the world’s best women’s basketball players at the heart of U.S.-Russia tensions. Officials said Griner would receive medical treatment and other support after her detainment in Russia.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, celebrated her partner’s return home in a Saturday Instagram post, adding that the couple are recovering from their time apart.

“As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits— I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!” she wrote.

Natalia Abbakumova, Miriam Berger, Mary Ilyushina, Arelis R. Hernández and Niha Masih contributed to this report.

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Content: 'What about the Merchant of Death?': Drug-smuggling WNBA star Brittney Griner is heckled about Russian prisoner swap by conservative influencer at DFW airport and asked if she still wants to boycott America

  • Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling in Russia and imprisoned
  • She was released in controversial swap, but reception has not been all positive
  • DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Brittney Griner has been heckled about a prisoner swap which saw a notorious arms dealer handed over to Russia so she could be freed after smuggling weed into Moscow.

The WNBA star, 32, was confronted by conservative YouTube star Alex Stein at Dallas Fort-Worth Airport Saturday.

Stein said:  'Hey Britt, do you still wanna... do you still wanna boycott America?

'What about the Merchant of Death, Brittney?'

Griner did not appear to respond to the heckling, although a woman in her group could be heard calling Stein a 'weirdo.' He was held back from the controversial star by a male security guard.

Stein's questions referred to Griner's previous assertion that sports players should not have to stand for the national anthem ahead of games. She stopped doing so herself in 2020, following George Floyd's murder, but has since changed her mind and resumed doing so.

The 'Merchant of Death' remark referred to arms dealer Viktor Bout. He was being held in a US jail for stoking some of the world's worst conflicts, but was freed and flown to Russia on a private jet in exchange for Griner's freedom.

Griner (center) could be seen walking through the airport with her Phoenix Mercury team

A conservative influencer heckled WNBA star Brittney Griner at Dallas Airport on Saturday

Griner was busted with weed cartridges at Moscow airport in February 2022, while traveling to Russia to play for a women's basketball team there.

Marijuana is totally-illegal in Russia, with Griner subsequently convicted of drug smuggling in October 2022. She claims she had authorization to take the drug medicinally in her native Arizona.

The sportswoman was arrested just before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and news of her imprisonment did not emerge until the following month.

Griner was sentenced to spend nine years in a prison colony, but was freed in December after the Biden administration agreed to release Bout.

Her release sparked mixed reactions. Many said she should never have been jailed for carrying a drug she was legally entitled to use at home.

But critics said Griner should have been more cautious and respectful of Russian laws, and that she should have been well aware of the harsh penalties she'd face for breaking statutes there.

The WNBA and the her team - Phoenix Mercury - are reviewing the incident, which occurred as the team travelled home from their latest game in Dallas on Saturday.

Griner had played hours earlier in the WNBA, and the team were heading home on Saturday

Griner is pictured putting her bag through a scanner after she was approached by a sniffer dog at Moscow airport in February 2022

In a statement on Saturday, the league said it was looking into the team's run-in with a 'social media figure' whose 'actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.'

'The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,' the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

Griner and her supporters had lobbied for charter flights after she returned from detainment in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her and others' safety. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights to road games.

Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras 'saying wild remarks.'

Griner spent nearly 10 months in a Russian penal colony for drug smuggling last year

She was involved in a high-profile prisoner swap with 'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout (above)

'Excessive harassment,' Turner tweeted. 'Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.'

The WNBA has added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of back-to-back regular season games were scheduled for such flights.

WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league´s inception in 1997. The league typically doesn't allow teams to charter because it could create a competitive advantage for teams who can afford to pay for them.

'Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG's team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times,' the league's statement reads. 'We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.'

Griner is pictured stepping back onto US soil after arriving at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas

The outside of the IK-2 penal colony in the town of Yavas in Mordovia, where Griner was held

The WNBA players' union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it 'quite clear that the matter of charter travel is NOT a 'competitive advantage' issue.'

'What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,' the WNBPA statement reads. 'Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.'

The Mercury released a statement saying the team will be working with the league on next steps.

'We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad,' the team statement reads. 'We will continue our support of marginalized communities and fighting the kind of hate that targeted us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety.'

Moment Brittney Griner is HECKLED over drug smuggling prisoner swap at Dallas airport

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This exchange was controversial, with some critics arguing that it set a dangerous precedent for future negotiations involving American detainees abroad.

Title:

Content:

by Maximilian Hess
Friday, 5
August 2022
Debate
07:00

The Brittney Griner prison swap sets a dangerous precedent

Bad actors may be inspired to follow Putin's example
by Maximilian Hess
Brittany Griner

The Russian trial of US basketball star Brittney Griner concluded today; she was handed an eight-year sentence on cannabis charges that Washington considers bogus. But she may not serve much of that, with the Kremlin has indicating its willingness to discuss a reported US proposal to include her in a prisoner swap.

On offer as part of the exchange from the US is Viktor Bout, an infamous Russian arms-dealer who served as the inspiration for the 2005 film, Lord of War. In return, the US wants to secure not only Griner’s release but that of ex-marine Paul Whelan too.

As might have been expected, former President Donald Trump waded into the debate. On a conservative talk radio show, Trump criticised the swap, saying that “it doesn’t look like a very good trade”. He continued:

They don’t like drugs. And she [Griner] got caught. And now, we’re supposed to get her out — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. Killed many Americans. Killed many people.
- Donald Trump

Trump is right to oppose the swap, if for the wrong reasons.

He believes that Griner, who has played in Russia during the WNBA off-season since 2014, really did bring drugs into Russia when she arrived in Moscow on 17 March — “I assume she admitted it without too much force because it is what it is”. Only Trumpian logic can seemingly acknowledge that she may have been tortured by the Kremlin while simultaneously taking its word as bond on the circumstances of her detention.

But the true problem with the deal is that it involves a civilian with no military, intelligence or other government affiliation (i.e. Griner). Going through with this swap would set a dangerous precedent that would put Americans abroad at greater risk.

An ex-Soviet air force officer, Bout is technically serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill US officials and provide aid to a terrorist group in Colombia. Bout is rumoured to be a close associate of ex-Putin gatekeeper and Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, one of Russia’s most powerful men. Washington arranged a sting operation and subsequently pressured the Thai government to extradite him. He might have made a fine Blackwater executive, but he is in jail because Washington saw him as a threat.

Whelan holds a dishonourable discharge from the US Marine Corps after allegedly stealing from the US Army in Iraq but had a subsequent career in private security, working for automotive supplier BorgWarner. He took increasingly frequent trips to Russia in the years before his detention. It is unsurprising the Kremlin saw him as a threat.

There is no reason to oppose including Whelan in such a swap. Regardless of the denials, in his case a security services’ connection is at least plausible. It is not in Griner’s.

If Washington is willing to countenance releasing Viktor Bout for Griner it risks setting dangerous model for other hostile actors to follow. Mexican cartels will be wondering what they may be able to get for one of the far more famous men’s basketball stars who like to vacation in territory they control. Groups such as the Islamic State may demand the release of their members in exchange for Western detainees.

State hostage-taking may not that commonplace, but the kidnap-for-ransom market is governed by the same overriding principles as any other. Releasing Griner in any spy swap would hand Putin a propaganda victory, weaken US national security and make the world a more dangerous place.

Upon her return to the U.S., Griner underwent a routine evaluation at a Texas Army medical center and began the process of readjusting to life at home.

Title:

Content: Live Updates

Russia's war in Ukraine

By Jessie Yeung, Joshua Berlinger, Elise Hammond and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 2:22 p.m. ET, December 9, 2022
33 Posts
Sort by
24 min ago

Zelensky says frontline situation in east is "very difficult" as Ukrainian forces repel Russian assaults

From CNN's Tim Lister and Julia Kesaieva

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Friday that the military situation in parts of eastern Ukraine was "very difficult" but said Ukrainian forces continued to resist Russian attacks.

In his daily video address, Zelensky said, "The frontline situation remains very difficult in the key areas of Donbas — Bakhmut, Soledar, Mariinka, Kreminna."

The four towns are on the frontlines in Donetsk and Luhansk, which have moved little in the last three months.

"There is no living place left on the ground in these areas that is undamaged by shells and fire," Zelensky said. "The occupiers have actually destroyed Bakhmut — another city of Donbas, which the Russian army turned into scorched ruins."

Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding the front, repelling attacks and inflicting "tangible losses on the enemy in response to the hell that came to Ukraine under the Russian flag."

Situation on the frontline: There's been heavy fighting around the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk for months. The city has suffered extensive destruction, as have dozens of settlements along the front lines in Donetsk.

Earlier Friday, an adviser to the president's office, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the Russians were making an unprecedented push towards Bakhmut. He also said that the situation around nearby Soledar "has worsened a little" with the Russians closing in on a village near an important highway.

In the Luhansk direction, Arestovych talked about dynamic front lines in which each side goes on the attack. But he said that at present, it was the Russians on the offensive, "meaning we are holding defenses."

36 min ago

Russia demanded a spy held in Germany be freed in exchange for Paul Whelan

From Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Sean Lyngaas and Jennifer Hansler

Russia refused to release Paul Whelan alongside Brittney Griner unless a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy currently in German custody was also released as part of any prisoner swap, US officials told CNN, even as the US offered up the names of several other Russian prisoners in US custody that they would be willing to trade.

The US was unable to deliver on the request for the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, because he is serving out a life sentence for murder in Germany.

CNN first reported exclusively in August that the Russians had requested that Krasikov be released along with Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US, in exchange for Whelan and Griner.

US officials made quiet inquiries to Germany about whether they might be willing to include Krasikov in the trade, a senior German government source told CNN earlier this year. But ultimately, the US was not able to secure Krasikov’s release.

The German government was not willing to seriously consider including Krasikov — who had assassinated a Georgian citizen in broad daylight in Berlin in 2019 — in a potential trade, the German source said.

The US made several other offers to the Russians, sources said, to get them to agree to include Whelan in the swap. Among the names floated by the US was Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national extradited to the US in August on allegations of money laundering, hacking and extortion.

The US also offered to trade Roman Seleznev, a convicted Russian cyber-criminal currently serving a 14-year sentence in the US, sources said.

A lawyer for Seleznev did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Frédéric Bélot, a lawyer who represented Vinnik in France before his extradition to the US, told CNN Friday that he was not aware of any current discussions between Moscow and Washington over including Vinnik in a potential prisoner swap.

38 min ago

Putin floats possibility that Russia may abandon doctrine of "no first use" of nuclear weapons

From CNN's Tim Lister

For the second time this week, President Vladimir Putin has floated the possibility that Russia may formally change its current doctrine that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.

Putin noted that United States’ policy was not to exclude the possibility of a “disarming” nuclear strike.

“They have it in their strategy, in the documents it is spelled out – a preventive blow. We don't. We, on the other hand, have formulated a retaliatory strike in our strategy," Putin said.

Even if Russia were to retaliate immediately on seeing the launch of nuclear missiles towards it, Putin said, “This means that the fall of the warheads of enemy missiles on the territory of the Russian Federation is inevitable – they will still fall.”

“So if we're talking about this disarming strike, then maybe think about adopting the best practices of our American partners and their ideas for ensuring their security. We're just thinking about it. No one was shy when they talked about it out loud in previous times and years," he added. “If a potential adversary believes it is possible to use the theory of a preventive strike, and we do not, then this still makes us think about those threats that are posed to us.”

Putin was speaking at a news conference in Bishkek. He described the preemptive nuclear strike as “applied to the control points, deprive the enemy of these control systems and so on,” implying that it could even prevent a retaliatory strike.

Some background: On Wednesday, Putin acknowledged that the conflict is “going to take a while,” as he also warned of the “increasing” threat of nuclear war.

“As for the idea that Russia wouldn't use such weapons first under any circumstances, then it means we wouldn't be able to be the second to use them either — because the possibility to do so in case of an attack on our territory would be very limited," he said Wednesday.

Putin’s comments come as the war enters winter, with Russia continuing to shell eastern and southern parts of Ukraine – and facing attacks on its own soil.

Biden administration officials have previously said that Moscow has been warned at the highest levels of the consequences for use of nuclear weapon in the war.

1 min ago

Pentagon announces $275 million in additional assistance for Ukraine

From CNN's Jamie Crawford and Niamh Kennedy

The Pentagon announced that an additional $275 million in security assistance for Ukraine has been approved.

“This authorization is the Biden Administration’s twenty-seventh drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” according to a statement from the Defense Department.

The package includes weapons and artillery rounds, as well as equipment to help Ukraine boost its air defense, according to the statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for its "unwavering support" in this country's "fight against Russian aggression" in a tweet Friday.

"No missile terror will stop our fight for freedom! It is important that the people of the United States are side by side with the people of Ukraine in this struggle," Zelensky said.

The Defense Department said the US have provided more than $19 billion in aide to Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February.

2 hr 6 min ago

Ukraine says it has identified Russian commander who allegedly ordered troops to shoot at civilians

From CNN's Julia Kesaieva

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has identified a Russian commander who ordered troops to fire at civilians in the early days of the invasion.

The SBU alleges that Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeniy Zelenov — a deputy commander in the Western Military District — ordered troops to shoot at civilian cars at the entrance to Kharkiv on Feb. 24, the first full day of the invasion.

The SBU claims in a statement that on that day, Zelenov was commanding a Russian battalion-tactical group and "conducted active hostilities with the units of the Defense Forces in the eastern direction."

"According to the investigation, his occupation group approached the Kharkiv ring road from the side of the village of Lyptsi and blocked the entrance to the regional center," the SBU continues.

"At the same time, local residents who were traveling from the border settlements of the region demanded the traffic be unblocked and resisted the occupiers."

The SBU claims that Zelenov ordered his subordinates to open fire on the cars with civilians.

"As a result of the crime, one person was killed, at least two were seriously injured," the security service alleges.

CNN is reaching out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment on the accusations. Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

2 hr 29 min ago

CNN's "Navalny" airs this weekend. Here's how to watch.

The CNN Film “Navalny” follows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was poisoned in August 2020 with a nerve agent during a flight to Moscow.

The film paints an intimate portrait of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics and takes viewers inside the harrowing search for answers following his poisoning.

Directed by Daniel Roher, it won the best political documentary award at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.

When and where to watch:

Saturday, Dec. 10 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. You can also stream anytime on HBO Max.

Who is Navalny?

Navalny is a Russian opposition leader, Kremlin critic and activist. He has been a prominent organizer of street protests and has exposed corruption in the Russian government on social media.

Earlier this year, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud charges he said were politically motivated.

Where is Navalny now?

Navalny has been transferred into a solitary prison cell, according to tweets from himself and his staff, in what he described as a move designed to “shut me up.”

In his isolation, Navalny said he is allowed just two books, and his parents, children and wife can no longer see him.

3 hr 23 min ago

Here's the official order Biden signed commuting Viktor Bout's sentence

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Joe Biden signed the official commutation for Viktor Bout last Friday, Dec. 2, according to the document that was posted on the Justice Department website.

The conditions of Bout's commutation include that he not return to the United States and not profit from any book or movie about his arrest or release.

On Thursday, the White House said Bout's commutation was not finalized until US officials saw Brittney Griner on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi.

Here's a look at the full document:

4 hr 2 min ago

Brittney Griner has arrived at Texas Army medical center for routine evaluation

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Brittney Griner “arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas early Friday, December 9, and was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for a routine evaluation," a State Department official confirmed.

“The US government is focused on ensuring that Brittney Griner and her family’s well-being are prioritized and that all assistance available be offered in an appropriate manner,” the official said.

“Due to privacy reasons and out of respect to the family, we do not have anything additional to provide,” they said.

Griner was released from a Russian jail in a Thursday prisoner swap for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

3 hr 20 min ago

Pentagon has some "concern" about release of Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner's freedom

From CNN's Barbara Starr

The Pentagon said Thursday there is some “concern” that Viktor Bout, who returned to Russia yesterday in a prisoner exchange for Brittney Griner, could return to the illicit international arms trade.

“I think there is a concern that he would return to doing the same kind of work that he's done in the past,” a senior defense official told reporters after Bout’s release from US custody.

Bout is allegedly the most prolific arms dealer of the past decades, fueling conflicts in Africa and beyond. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the US on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization.

The official said the Defense Department will continue to work with its partners in Africa to understand the current risk factors in the international arms trade.

“There are a number of actors out there who have influence in the Russian oligarchy,” the official said. “We will continue to work with African partners so that they understand the risks and the threats of the people that they're working with and the organizations that they're working with,” the official added.

She expressed gratitude for the support she received during her ordeal and announced plans to share her story in a memoir, aiming to raise awareness about other Americans detained overseas.

Griner also re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury and resumed her basketball career, using her platform to thank those who advocated for her release.


As the climate warmed at the end of the last Ice Age, the grassland habitats that woolly mammoths thrived in were drastically reduced, leading to a significant decline in their population.

This habitat loss was compounded by hunting pressures from humans, which further restricted their numbers to isolated populations on islands in the Arctic Ocean near Siberia and Alaska.

The transition from the Ice Age to the present interglacial period, approximately 50,000 to 5,000 years ago, saw many large mammal species, including the woolly mammoth, go extinct due to rapidly changing climates, vegetation shifts, and increased human hunting.

Woolly mammoths were well adapted to cold environments with their thick fur, large fat reserves, and specialized blood, but these adaptations became less advantageous as the climate warmed.

Evidence from Siberia's 'mammoth graveyard' suggests that humans hunted mammoths for ivory and meat, contributing to their decline.

However, genetic studies of the last mammoth populations, such as those on Wrangel Island, indicate that inbreeding was not a significant factor in their extinction, suggesting other causes like disease outbreaks or short-term climatic events may have also played a role.

As the climate warmed at the end of the last Ice Age, the grassland habitats that woolly mammoths thrived in were drastically reduced, leading to a significant decline in their population.

Title:

Content: Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

The most famous of the 10 mammoth species known to have existed is undoubtedly the woolly mammoth. Standing at around the same size as today’s African elephants, this magnificent animal roamed the northern hemisphere for roughly half a million years, becoming extinct by around 2000 BC.

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The reasons for the woolly mammoth’s demise are multifaceted. As the climate warmed at the end of the last Ice Age, and forests spread across the northern hemisphere, the grassland habitats in which the animal thrived were drastically reduced. This, combined with hunting pressures from humans, meant the woolly mammoth population ended up being restricted to just a couple of islands in the Arctic Ocean near Siberia and Alaska.

Some scientists hope to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction, but with African and Asian elephant populations still facing a huge range of threats, many believe that our focus should be on preserving those animals instead.

Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)

For a large bird species that only became extinct relatively recently, we know surprisingly little about the dodo and its behaviours. In fact, there is just one near- complete dodo skeleton with bones from one bird, and there is only one specimen that contains soft tissue.

What we do know is that the dodo was restricted to Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Madagascar and part of the Mascarene Archipelago, and was a relative to doves and pigeons. It’s thought that natural selection caused the animal to evolve into a flightless bird, with the species no longer needing to fly on an island with no predators.

However, when humans – and the animals they brought with them – first came to Mauritius in the 16th century, the dodo became extremely vulnerable. As well as being hunted for meat, it suffered from habitat loss and the predation of its eggs, resulting in its extinction by c1680.

Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)

Also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, the thylacine was a carnivorous mammal originally found in Australia and New Guinea. Despite being similar in appearance to the domestic dog, it was actually a marsupial – a group of mammals that also includes kangaroos, koalas, wombats and opossums – and had a pouch.

Once widespread, the thylacine became extinct on the Australian mainland no less than 2,000 years ago, although the reasons for this are unknown. The species then became restricted to the island of Tasmania, off the south coast of Victoria, with between 2,000–4,000 individuals remaining when the British arrived in the early 19th century.

Eventually, the thylacine was persecuted as it was deemed a threat to livestock. The last known captive individual died from exposure at a zoo in Hobart in 1936 after being accidentally left out overnight. It’s thought that the last wild thylacines died in the 1960s, but that hasn’t stopped persistent rumours over the species’ continued survival.

Great auk (Pinguinus impennis)

Despite being similar in colouration and shape and bearing the genus name Pinguinus, the great auk wasn’t a relative of penguins, but was instead a member of the same family as puffins and guillemots.

Once a relatively common species in the North Atlantic, it bred on remote rocky islands such as Funk Island off the coast of Newfoundland, which was described by one 18th- century sailor as being “entirely covered with those fowls, so close that a man could not put his foot between them.”

However, exploration of the North Atlantic seas by European sailors spelled danger for the flightless seabird, with overharvesting of its eggs and adults for meat, feathers and body parts dramatically reducing the population. Attempts were made to protect the great auk, but that only increased its worth to collectors.

Sadly, the last breeding pair were killed and their single egg accidentally crushed by fishermen on Eldey Island, Iceland, on 3 July 1844.

Xerces butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces)

Named after the Persian kings Xerxes I and Xerxes II (whose names are sometimes spelled ‘Xerces’ in France), this diminutive blue butterfly species lived among the coastal sand dunes of the San Francisco Peninsula, where its caterpillar preferred to feed on a single plant species.

However, urban development resulted in the loss of the plant, which could not survive in disturbed soil, and thus the loss of the Xerces blue in the 1940s – the first example of a butterfly becoming extinct due to human activity in North America.

Later, the Xerces Society, a non-profit conservation organisation established in 1971, was named in memory of the lost invertebrate.

For a while, there was uncertainty as to whether the Xerces blue was a distinct species or a subspecies of another blue butterfly. However, a scientific paper published in 2021 examined the DNA of a museum specimen collected in 1928 and proved that it was indeed a distinct species.

Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

The passenger pigeon was one of the most abundant pigeon species on the planet. Native to North America, it was called jahgowa by the Seneca Tribe, which translates to “big bread”, as it was a source of food by the Seneca and the rest of the Haudenosaunee people. Despite this, the hunting of the species was carefully regulated by rules set by each tribe.

However, after colonisation by the Europeans, hunting of the passenger pigeon increased and gradually became more industrial and commercialised. As the population declined, the species then became vulnerable to further pressures such as habitat loss and predation by other animals.

The last living passenger pigeon was a female named Martha, who was kept at Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio. She died on 1 September 1914 – one of the few times we have known the absolute date of a species’ extinction. Her death contributed to the creation of the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which requires permits to hunt some migratory bird species.

Golden toad (Incilius periglenes)

So-named for the brilliant yellow-orange colouration of the male (the female was black with yellow and red patterning), the golden toad has become a poster child for extinctions connected to the climate crisis.

Found in the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, the amphibian spent most of the year underground. It only emerged for a few days each April, with males fighting with each other around pools of rainwater in order to mate with females.

In 1987, roughly 1,500 golden toads were observed. However, the following year, only 10 toads were found, and in 1989, just one male. That one male was the last golden
toad ever seen, and the species was officially declared extinct in 2004.

While the exact cause of extinction is unknown, the climate crisis – combined with habitat loss and an infectious disease called chytridiomycosis – are all thought to have played a part.

Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer)

The baiji was a freshwater dolphin that lived in the Yangtze River in China, the third-longest river in the world. Although still listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, having last been assessed in 2017, the species is considered extinct by conservationists. In fact, both the last confirmed sighting of a wild individual and the death of the last captive individual occurred in 2002.

The Yangtze River is also home to the Yangtze finless porpoise, the only freshwater porpoise in the world. Like the baiji, its existence is currently threatened by overfishing, shipping traffic and noise pollution.

However, the 2017 suspension of sand mining in Dongting Lake – a flood basin of the Yangtze in China’s Hunan province – has seen the finless porpoise return to areas that it had previously been avoiding.

Pinta Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii or Chelonoidis abingdonii)

While there is debate about whether the giant tortoises of the Galápagos Islands are subspecies of the same species or a completely different species altogether, one thing is certain: Lonesome George was the last of his kind.

George was a Pinta Island tortoise, a species (or subspecies) that was already thought to have been extinct until he was discovered alone on the island that gave George and his former companions their collective name.

There were attempts to find other Pinta Island tortoises, and to mate him with closely related females, but to no avail. He died in 2012 of natural causes when he was around 100 years old.

Curiously, scientists believe it might be possible to bring back the Pinta Island tortoise, or at least a closely related version. Researchers have discovered hybrid tortoises with Pinta Island tortoise genes on nearby Isabela Island, with their Pinta Island ancestors having been moved there by whalers and pirates.

Megan Shersby is a naturalist, science writer and communicator. She was previously editorial and digital coordinator at BBC Wildlife Magazine

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This content first appeared in the November 2023 issue of BBC History Revealed

Authors

Megan ShersbyNaturalist, writer and content creator
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According to most recent research, what is the primary cause of wooly mammoth extinction?

How did climate change affect mammoth' habitat?

What are the causes of the wooly mammoth extinction?

What aspects of climate change contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

What environmental factors contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

This habitat loss was compounded by hunting pressures from humans, which further restricted their numbers to isolated populations on islands in the Arctic Ocean near Siberia and Alaska.

How did humans contribute to the wooly mammoth extinction?

What are the causes of the wooly mammoth extinction?

Where were the last areas of wooly mammoth habitat?

islands in the Arctic Ocean near Siberia and Alaska

The transition from the Ice Age to the present interglacial period, approximately 50,000 to 5,000 years ago, saw many large mammal species, including the woolly mammoth, go extinct due to rapidly changing climates, vegetation shifts, and increased human hunting.

Title:

Content: What we know as the Ice Age, the last long period during which global temperatures dropped dramatically and the polar ice expanded to cover much of the earth, is more properly called the Last Glacial Period (as there have been multiple ice ages).

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It started around 115,000 years ago and lasted for over 100,000 years. In that time many animal lineages rose and fell. In particular, it is known that many large mammal species went extinct during the transition from the Ice Age to the present interglacial period (from around 50,000 to 5,000 years ago).

These extinctions are thought to have occurred due to a combination of a quickly changing climate, changing vegetation and increases in human hunting. These megafauna included some truly huge and charismatic animals, from the iconic woolly mammoth to huge cave bears, to giant sloths standing nearly 12 feet tall! In this list you will find out about some extraordinary (now extinct) animals that lived during the age of ice and snow.

10 now-extinct animals from the Ice Age

1. Neanderthals

Our own species, Homo sapiens, emerged about 300,000 years ago, so persisted through the last ice age. We were not the only ancient humans around, however. Surviving the frigid temperatures along with us were our evolutionary cousins, the Neanderthals. This species of hominid emerged at a similar time to us but went extinct around 40,000 years ago – during the Ice Age.

Theories as to why they went extinct vary, from outcompetion from or diseases introduced by Homo sapiens to assimilation into the human gene pool. However, recent theories suggest that the primary driver might have been climate change. It is thought that despite behavioural and biological adaptations to the cold they simply struggled to survive the frigid conditions and lack of available food. How we survived and they didn’t is an interesting question.

2. Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius)

Probably the most well-known of all Ice Age animals is the woolly mammoth (in part thanks to the film character Manny!). Woolly mammoths lived from about 300,000 years ago up until about 10,000 years ago. The appearance of these elephant-sized animals is perhaps the best known of any prehistoric creature, due to the many frozen specimens that have been found, with soft tissue preserved.

With their thick coat of hair, large fat reserves, and specially adapted 'antifreeze' blood they were very well adapted to the cold. They were also very important to the survival of ancient humans throughout the Ice Age; their coats, meat and bones provided valuable sources of warmth, food and building materials for homo sapiens and Neanderthals alike.

3. Giant ground sloth (Megatherium americanum)

These beasts were very different to the sloths we know and love today! Standing at a whopping 3.7m when up on hind legs and weighing up to four tonnes (as opposed to the 5kg of a modern sloth), they were truly colossal.

With its ability to walk on its hind legs, it was in fact the largest bipedal mammal of all time. They lived in the woodlands and grasslands of South America, and fossils have been found dating back from around 400,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago. Despite its huge fearsome claws, it was actually a vegetarian, feeding on leaves and grasses.

4. Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus)

Slightly more modest in size, though still pretty massive, was the cave bear. Weighing in at between 400 and 1,000kg, the largest cave bears were comparable in size to modern-day polar bears. They could be found across Europe and Asia, including in the UK.

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We have a very good idea of what they looked like, as in 2020 a perfectly preserved specimen was found in the Russian Arctic, its remains revealed by melting permafrost. Even its teeth and nose were intact.

The specimen was dated to between 22,000 and 39,500 years old, living towards the end of the time of the cave bears, who are thought to have gone extinct 24,000 years ago. It is thought that hunting by humans, as well as competition with them over caves, may have contributed to their disappearance.

5. Dire wolf (Canis dirus)

That’s right, dire wolves are not just fictional pets from Game of Thrones, they were real animals. However, despite the name, and a lot of physical similarities, recent genetic analysis has revealed that they were not actually very closely related to grey wolves at all and were relatively closer to African jackals.

These canids were seemingly a common feature of the American Late Pleistocene landscape (approx. 250,000 to 13,000 years ago), roaming the grasslands, plains, and woods and preying on megafauna including giant ground sloths. There is almost an overabundance of fossil data on this species, with over 4,000 individuals excavated from California’s La Brea tar pits alone.

6. Sabre Tooth Cat (Smilodon genus)

The La Brea tar pits have also been responsible for giving us insights about another iconic Ice Age predator – the sabre tooth cat. More than 3,000 fossilised individuals have been pulled from the ooze, and their teeth in particular have been a valuable source of information about their diets and lifestyle.

Scientists have been able to examine the wear patterns on their iconic gnashers to determine that rather than bringing down very large prey like bison on the open plains, as was previously thought, they most likely fed primarily on smaller forest-dwelling animals like tapirs and deer. They were ambush predators similar to many modern-day big cats.

7. Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus)

As you can probably guess from the scientific name, this species of deer was BIG. They stood at over 1.8m tall at shoulder height and had the largest antlers of any known deer, extinct or living. These colossal antlers must have been something to behold, spanning up to a whopping 3.5 metres.

Despite the name, this elk was not restricted to Ireland, but some of the most well-preserved fossil specimens have been found there. The most recent remains come from western Russia and have been dated to approximately 7,700 years ago – seemingly another victim of the megafaunal extinction event that occurred around the end of the Ice Age.

8. Giant Beaver (Castoroides genus)

Continuing the theme of larger versions of modern-day animals is the giant beaver, with an average length of about 1.8m. Its teeth were large to match, with some reaching up to 15cm, about the size of a hot dog.

There is no definitive evidence that they built dams as modern beavers do, but it is plausible that these immense incisors could have been used for woodcutting. What we do know is that they had smaller, smoother brains than modern-day beavers, which could indicate that they had less behavioural and social complexity.

9. Megalania (Varanus priscus)

So far this list has focused on mega-mammals, but what about other Ice Age species? Understandably it was hard for cold-blooded species like reptiles to survive frozen ice age temperatures across much of the globe, but in fact, not all of the world was icy, and some places remained habitable.

One of these places was Australia, where giant reptiles ruled. These included huge land-living crocodiles, massive snakes and Megalania – a truly monstrous relative of the Komodo dragon. This monitor lizard reached an estimated length of 7 metres and was a key land predator, at the very top of the food chain.

It has been suggested that the loss of its mega-reptile predators has left the Australian ecosystem out of kilter, allowing introduced mammals to reign unchecked.

10. Diprotodon (Diprotodon genus)

Another feature of the Australian Ice Age landscape was not a reptile, but a huge marsupial mammal – in fact, the largest marsupial to have ever lived. Diprotodon measured an estimated 4m head to tail tip and weighed as much as 3,500 kg, dwarfing the current largest marsupial, the red kangaroo, which checks in at a mere 2.7m and 90kg.

Their closest modern relatives are actually much smaller: wombats and koalas. It also has the distinction of being the only known seasonally migrating marsupial, trekking very far in search of food and watering holes.

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Main image: Artist's impression of a sabre tooth cat. © Daniel Eskridge/Getty

Authors

Leoma WilliamsAnimal behavior researcher and science writer

Leoma Williams is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Manchester, and writes periodically for both the website and print magazine

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How did climate change affect mammoth' habitat?

How did humans contribute to the wooly mammoth extinction?

What are the causes of the wooly mammoth extinction?

What aspects of climate change contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

What environmental factors contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

from 300,000 years ago up until 10,000 years ago

Woolly mammoths were well adapted to cold environments with their thick fur, large fat reserves, and specialized blood, but these adaptations became less advantageous as the climate warmed.

According to most recent research, what is the primary cause of wooly mammoth extinction?

How did climate change affect mammoth' habitat?

What are the causes of the wooly mammoth extinction?

What aspects of climate change contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

What environmental factors contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

Evidence from Siberia's 'mammoth graveyard' suggests that humans hunted mammoths for ivory and meat, contributing to their decline.

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Siberia's 'mammoth graveyard' reveals 800-year human interactions with woolly beasts

Woolly mammoths are evocative of a bygone era, when Earth was gripped within an Ice Age. Current knowledge places early mammoth ancestors in the Pliocene (2.58–5.33 million years ago, Ma) before their populations expanded in the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma–11,700 years ago, kyr). However, as climate changed, their numbers dwindled to isolated populations in modern Siberia and Alaska, until their last dated survival 4 kyr ago.

In the East Siberian Arctic (>70 °N), there is not only evidence of significant woolly mammoth populations, but also how humans interacted with them, the focus of new research in Quaternary Science Reviews.

Along the Berelekh River, Russia, a 'mammoth graveyard' can be found. Here, thousands of disarticulated bones, representing a minimum of 156 individual mammoths, found alongside an indicate the close proximity of these two communities, forming the Berelekh geoarchaeological complex.

Dr. Vladimir Pitulko, of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and colleagues aimed to assess the relationship between the 'mammoth graveyard' and the archaeological site through a re-examination of stratigraphic and paleogeographic data obtained in 2009, with new fieldwork focused on the left riverbanks where have readily yielded from their home in the sediment and appeared on the water's edge. Alongside them are remains of Pleistocene hare, Arctic fox and wolves, as well as soot and charcoal from hearths and worked mammoth tusks (one being an unfinished throwing spear).

The researchers suggest humans created these bone accumulations as a byproduct of the production of mammoth ivory technology, while hares may have been targeted for fur to produce winter clothing.

Notably, evidence of blowfly pupae activity on cavities in skulls and bones is indicative that the mammoth carcasses were added to the 'graveyard' de-fleshed. Indeed, there appears to be evidence of sorting of the bones, with only the most valuable transported to Berelekh from the area in which the mammoth was killed, leaving behind parts such as spinal columns, carpal ('hand') and tarsal ('foot') bones.

There are three radiocarbon dated peaks in woolly mammoth accumulation at 11.8, 12.2 and 12.4 kyr ago, which fall within known human settlement of the area (11.2–12.4 kyr ago) during the Bølling-Allerød deglacial, when the warmed and pollen evidence suggests the region became more arid.

Fluctuations in the abundance of mammoths in the 'graveyard' suggest human settlement of the area may also have changed through time (frequent occupation but not permanent), which the researchers attribute to on the floodplain permitting suitability for erecting campsites.

Radiocarbon dating of mammoth remains identifies their presence here pre-dating human settlement (beginning ~12.5 kyr ago), but also shows that humans remained in the area (until ~11.2 kyr ago) after mass mammoth remains accumulation declined (~11.8 kyr ago).

Given this, four possible causes are suggested by the scientists to explain such a significant mass accumulation of bones: 1) mass death by natural causes or human, 2) repeated group deaths in the same location, likely due to human predation, 3) concentration of remains by , such as river action, or 4) solely derived from human predation or scavenging from deceased carcasses.

However, the latter is considered to be the most likely to produce useful tools from ivory tusks, as well as meat to feed the community, as there is no evidence on the bones for a cause of mass death, radiocarbon ages do not cluster into multiple phases for recurrent death deposits and stream flows were unlikely to reach sufficient velocities to transport such heavy bones.

These findings are concurrent with mammoth remains at the Yana Paleolithic site, also in Siberia. Here, estimates suggest the 'graveyard' increased by 1–2 mammoths per year rather than a mass death event, a figure Dr. Pitulko and colleagues conclude could be similar or even higher for Berelekh.

This research is significant as it alters the previously-held belief that there was a lag of 50–80 years between mammoth bone accumulation from natural processes (such as deposition in flood channels) and , instead now defining a close relationship between the two over 700–800 years. Sadly, now that human-mammoth relationship has continued as ivory hunters have looted the site beyond further study.

More information: Vladimir V. Pitulko et al, From the Berelekh 'mammoth graveyard' to Berelekh geo-archaeological complex: Paleoenvironment, site formation processes, and human-mammoth relationships, Quaternary Science Reviews (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108692

Journal information: Quaternary Science Reviews

© 2024 Science X Network

Citation: Siberia's 'mammoth graveyard' reveals 800-year human interactions with woolly beasts (2024, June 10) retrieved 10 June 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-06-siberia-mammoth-graveyard-reveals-year.html
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How did humans contribute to the wooly mammoth extinction?

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However, genetic studies of the last mammoth populations, such as those on Wrangel Island, indicate that inbreeding was not a significant factor in their extinction, suggesting other causes like disease outbreaks or short-term climatic events may have also played a role.

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In-Breeding Likely Didn't End the Last of the Mammoth Population

A study of the last likely surviving mammoth population shows that genetics from in-breeding likely did not lead to their demise.

By Paul Smaglik
Jun 27, 2024 6:20 PMJun 27, 2024 6:22 PM
Wrangel Island mammoth tusk (Credit: Love Dalén)

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It would seem obvious that rising sea levels that cut off the last population of woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island from the Siberian coast 10,000 years ago caused in-breeding, leading to their eventual extinction. But a new genetic analysis, reported in Cell, counters that claim.

That result was unexpected, since an earlier report indicated that the mammoth population likely built up harmful genetic mutations, according to Love Dalén, a scientist with the Centre for Palaeogenetics of Sweden, and one of the paper’s authors.

“I was fairly surprised both at how few the mammoths on Wrangel Island were in the beginning (less than 10 individuals), and that we did not find any evidence for an accumulation of highly deleterious mutations,” Dalén says. He calls the relative lack of harmful mutations surprising, because an earlier paper published in 2017 in PLOS Genetics predicted they may have played a factor.

Natural Selection and Genetic Drift

The genetic story of this population — which likely started from 8 individuals and grew to 200 to 300 mammoths over 6,000 years within 20 generations — is a bit more complicated. Two sometimes competing genetic factors were at play.

Natural selection tends to purge harmful variants, because offspring carrying them would be less likely to survive. But genetic drift works to preserve mutations across generations.

This effect tends to be stronger in smaller populations, so it would make sense that it would impact the Wrangel Island mammoths.

Read More: Rapid Evolution Changes Species in Real Time

What Made the Island Mammoths go Extinct?

Although it appears that these two genetic forces competed, it wasn’t necessarily a fair fight.

“Whereas genetic drift affects all deleterious mutations in the same way, natural selection will be stronger the more deleterious a mutation is,” says Dalén. “That way, natural selection is expected to remove the very deleterious mutations from the population, while genetic drift leads to an increase in slightly deleterious ones.”

Therefore, over time, the most harmful mutations were purged, while a bunch of relatively innocuous ones remained. So, if inbreeding didn’t do in the mammoths, what did?

“This leaves us with some other possibilities, such as a disease outbreak, some sort of tundra fire, or very short-term climatic perturbation, where the latter two could have ruined the plant growth for one or a few seasons, which could have had disastrous consequences for such a small population,” Dalén says.

Read More: How Do We Know When a Species Is Extinct?

Conservation of Today

Although the interplay between natural selection and genetic drift didn’t appear to wipe out the mammoths of yore, it still has implications for conservation efforts of today.

For example, conservationists wishing to preserve a species that has almost gone extinct, but has partially recovered, could look to the Wrangel Island mammoths. The implication is that moving a few individuals between two isolated populations could slow genetic drift.

The study’s authors have yet to analyze DNA from the most recent Wrangel Island mammoths. However, researchers have found fossils from the last 300 years of the mammoths’ existence and plan to analyze their genomes.

Read More: Scientists Are Trying to Save These Animals From Extinction

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Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

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According to most recent research, what cause of wooly mammoth extinction is not as important as previously believed?

What environmental factors contributed to the wooly mammoth extinction?

Where were the last areas of wooly mammoth habitat?

islands in the Arctic Ocean near Siberia and Alaska