Brittney Griner was freed in exchange for Viktor Bout.

Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February after cannabis oil was found in her luggage.

She claimed the canisters were packed by mistake.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, but still faced trial under Russia's judicial system.

Viktor Bout was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to be used against Americans.

The deal did not include Paul Whelan, a Michigan executive jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

Griner's case drew global attention due to her status as an openly gay Black woman and Russia's hostility towards the LGBTQ community.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Griner by phone and reported she was in good spirits.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was wrongfully detained.

Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison after nearly 300 days.

The US exchanged Griner for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout.

Paul Whelan was not included in the prisoner swap.

Griner was relieved to be headed back to the US.

A video of Griner speaking to the press on a plane after being released from prison has been shared on social media.

LeBron James thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and others for their role in Griner's release.

Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback with the Phoenix Mercury after 10 months in a Russian prison.

Griner scored 18 points and had six rebounds in her team's 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Griner appreciates everything more after her prison release.

US Vice President Kamala Harris attended Griner's comeback game and addressed the Mercury beforehand.

Griner thanked Vice President Harris in person for her support during her imprisonment.

Brittney Griner is writing a memoir about her Russian imprisonment, set for spring 2024 release.

Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022 and sentenced to nine years for drug smuggling and possession.

She was released in December 2022 as part of a US-Russia prisoner exchange.

Griner plans to play for the Phoenix Mercury in the upcoming season.

Griner's memoir raises awareness of detained Americans overseas.

She is grateful for global support during her detainment.

Brittney Griner returned to the U.S. from Russia without her long locs after her release from a Russian penal colony.

Griner cut her hair to avoid the cold of Russia's winters.

Russian authorities held Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water.

Griner's attorney said she had no complaints about her life in the Russian penal colony.

Griner was released in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout after negotiations by President Biden.

Griner was detained in Russia since February for possessing cannabis vape cartridges at a Moscow airport.

Griner pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison before her release.

The prisoner swap was criticized for excluding Paul Whelan, a US citizen also imprisoned in Russia.

US officials began working towards Griner's release after her apprehension in Russia, focusing on a prisoner swap after the State Department declared her wrongful detention in May.

The US offered to release Bout for Griner and Whelan, but Russia also sought the release of former spy Vadim Krasikov.

The Biden administration agreed to a one-for-one swap, exchanging Bout for Griner.

The prisoner swap was facilitated by UAE officials, including President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The swap marks a rare instance of US-Russia cooperation since the Ukraine invasion.

US officials vowed to continue working for Whelan's release after he was excluded from the deal.

Griner's detention has sparked safety concerns due to her status as a Black lesbian, potentially targeting her with Putin's exclusionary politics.

A potential swap of Bout for Griner raises questions about releasing a convicted arms trafficker for someone detained on drug charges.

Brittney Griner was wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for 143 days.

Griner wrote to President Biden, fearing she'd be in a Russian prison forever and asking him not to forget her and other American detainees.

President Biden has read Griner's letter and vowed to use every tool to bring her home.

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges for having 0.702 grams of hash oil in her luggage.

Over 60 Americans, including Paul Whelan, the Citgo 6, and Alina Lopez-Miyares, are currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Griner's case has drawn attention due to her status as a Phoenix Mercury star and six-time WBNA All-Star.

The author believes Griner's fame prevented her imprisonment from going unnoticed.

The author hopes Griner and other wrongfully detained Americans will be brought home soon.

Brittney Griner has settled back into her US life after months in Russia.

Griner was held in a Russian penal colony.

Cherelle Griner thanked the Biden Administration and Congress for securing Brittney Griner's release.

Cherelle thanked Paul Whelan's family and called for the return of all Americans held abroad.

Brittney Griner has resumed basketball workouts, including dunking.

Griner has not decided if or when she will return to professional basketball.

The NBA and WNBA have supported Brittney Griner as she readjusts to life in America.

Brittney Griner, a WNBA player, was arrested at a Russian airport for cannabis oil possession and sentenced to nine years in prison.

The US released Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, remains in Russian custody despite US efforts to secure his release.

Russia views Paul Whelan's case as distinct from Brittney Griner's, complicating his release efforts.

The Biden administration is criticized for not securing the release of detained Americans in Russia, including Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

The prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner is seen as a Biden administration diplomatic victory, but raises questions about future exchanges.

The detention of Brittney Griner and other Americans in Russia highlights tense US-Russia relations.

The U.S. government has proclaimed Brittney Griner 'wrongfully detained'.

Griner's detention may be labeled a hostage situation to leverage the US.

Griner may be sent to a Russian labor camp.

The US government's response to Griner's detention has been criticized as slow and inadequate.

The Brittney Griner case highlights the WNBA's pay disparity with the NBA, forcing many players to play overseas.

The U.S. may swap Griner for convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Griner's detention has received less attention and sympathy due to her sexual orientation and race.

Brittney Griner's detention highlights the need for the US to prioritize releasing wrongfully detained Americans abroad.

Brittney Griner testified that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport.

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison on drug charges.

She was detained after hashish oil was found in her luggage.

Griner said she was not given an interpreter and didn't understand the papers she signed.

Griner pleaded guilty, but claimed it was unintentional.

The US has made a substantial offer to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan.

US officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Griner's case has highlighted strained US-Russia relations over Ukraine.

The US wants to see those wrongfully detained released and returned home, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Kremlin claims Griner's case is not political and she should be tried under Russian law.

Brittney Griner was freed in exchange for Viktor Bout.

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner freed from Russian prison in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout

The US and Russia have exchanged jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” officials said.

The swap was confirmed by US officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations ahead of an expected White House announcement, the Associated Press reports.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose months-long imprisonment on drug charges brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.

She was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage - but she maintained it was an honest mistake.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed on Thursday morning they had already spoken by phone with Griner and she is said to have been in good spirits.

In a celebratory tweet, Mr Biden said Griner, a native of Houston, Texas, is on a plane home and is safe.

The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the US 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 US officials said were to be used against Americans.

The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad.

The dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, however, did not include the release of Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges.

Mr Whelan's family and the US government say the accusations against him are baseless. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, though still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case. She acknowledged in court she possessed the canisters, but said she had no criminal intent and said their presence in her luggage was due to hasty packing.

Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, infused racial and gender dynamics into the picture and made each development a matter of global importance.

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Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February after cannabis oil was found in her luggage.

She claimed the canisters were packed by mistake.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, but still faced trial under Russia's judicial system.

Viktor Bout was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to be used against Americans.

The deal did not include Paul Whelan, a Michigan executive jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

Griner's case drew global attention due to her status as an openly gay Black woman and Russia's hostility towards the LGBTQ community.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Griner by phone and reported she was in good spirits.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was wrongfully detained.

Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison after nearly 300 days.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

The US exchanged Griner for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

Paul Whelan was not included in the prisoner swap.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

Griner was relieved to be headed back to the US.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

A video of Griner speaking to the press on a plane after being released from prison has been shared on social media.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

LeBron James thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and others for their role in Griner's release.

Title:

Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

Are you 1000% an NBA fan?
🚨 Get compelling NBA news, trade rumors, and viral buzz delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch newsletter:

A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback with the Phoenix Mercury after 10 months in a Russian prison.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

Griner scored 18 points and had six rebounds in her team's 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

Griner appreciates everything more after her prison release.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

US Vice President Kamala Harris attended Griner's comeback game and addressed the Mercury beforehand.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

Griner thanked Vice President Harris in person for her support during her imprisonment.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

Brittney Griner is writing a memoir about her Russian imprisonment, set for spring 2024 release.

Title:

Content: Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude

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.

Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022 and sentenced to nine years for drug smuggling and possession.

She was released in December 2022 as part of a US-Russia prisoner exchange.

Griner plans to play for the Phoenix Mercury in the upcoming season.

Griner's memoir raises awareness of detained Americans overseas.

She is grateful for global support during her detainment.

Brittney Griner returned to the U.S. from Russia without her long locs after her release from a Russian penal colony.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Griner cut her hair to avoid the cold of Russia's winters.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Russian authorities held Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Griner's attorney said she had no complaints about her life in the Russian penal colony.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Griner was released in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout after negotiations by President Biden.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Griner was detained in Russia since February for possessing cannabis vape cartridges at a Moscow airport.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Griner pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison before her release.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

The prisoner swap was criticized for excluding Paul Whelan, a US citizen also imprisoned in Russia.

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Content: Categories
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Inside Joe Biden’s Faustian pact with Russia to secure Brittney

Three weeks ago, the American basketball star Brittney Griner arrived at a Russian penal colony known for torture, beatings and slave labour to begin a nine-year sentence following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February for possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil.

But in a stunning twist on Thursday, Griner’s plight as an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle came to an abrupt end, as she arrived in Abu Dhabi from Moscow and boarded a plane home to reunite with her family. She landed in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

In exchange for Griner’s release, the US released Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker who was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill US citizens and aiding a terrorist organisation.

The deal was met with jubilation from Griner’s family and supporters. But the controversial swap for Bout — as well as the exclusion of Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia — also drew criticism and raised questions about how America’s adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

US officials began working toward Griner’s release as soon as she was apprehended in Russia in February, but the effort became more concentrated on prisoner swap negotiations once the State Department declared in May that she had been wrongfully detained.

In July, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. During the call, Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a “substantial proposal” from Washington to release Griner and the former marine Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on what the US and his family say are trumped-up espionage charges.

Americans had offered to free Bout, people familiar with the discussions said, but the Russians said they also wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year.

In the ensuing months, officials said, Washington made a number of offers to Russia in an attempt to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.

However, Biden administration officials said that in recent weeks it became clear that Moscow would only accept a one-for-one swap. According to one senior administration official, “the choice was bringing Brittney Griner home right now or bringing no Americans home from Russia right now”.

Despite the Biden administration’s insistence that they had no choice but to exclude Whelan from the deal, Republican lawmakers and others denounced the decision, as well as facilitating the release of Bout, who is also known as “the merchant of death”.

“The Biden administration has allowed Viktor Bout, a dangerous arms dealer who was convicted of conspiring to kill American law enforcement, to walk free,” said Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

“This move to appease Vladimir Putin will only encourage further hostage taking by Russian security forces,” he added.

US officials described Biden’s choice as a painful one, adding that they would continue to work for Whelan’s release. Washington previously secured the release of Trevor Reed, another former marine, via a prisoner swap in April.

People familiar with Thursday’s prisoner exchange likened the episode to “a scene from the Cold War”, with Russian and American planes meeting on the tarmac at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian plane carrying Griner arrived first, one of the people said. American officials and people familiar with the events said the basketball star was upbeat on the tarmac, saying she was looking forward to returning home.

The Griner-Bout swap marks a rare instance in which the US and Russia have been able to find common ground since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending the west’s relationship with Moscow to its lowest ebb since the Cuban missile crisis.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Americans and Russians directly negotiated the details of the swaps, with UAE officials including president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan helping to facilitate the mechanics of the transfer.

It is not unusual for third countries to aid in brokering international diplomatic agreements such as prisoner swaps between hostile countries.

Sheikh Mohammed and Putin discussed the matter when they met in Russia in October, and they spoke on the phone on Wednesday, people familiar with the meetings said. Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, was present for the exchange on Thursday and had helped to co-ordinate details on the American side.

On Thursday, some pro-Kremlin commentators hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy. “Everyone sees through this exchange that Moscow and Washington are holding secret negotiations and can make a deal,” Sergei Markov, a political scientist and former member of Russia’s parliament, wrote on Telegram. “And everyone hopes that means Moscow and Washington can make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.”

However, analysts and US officials said that while the breakthrough was a sign that the two sides could get things done when their interests align, it was not evidence of any larger thaw in relations. Biden administration officials added that the recent conversations with Russia about Griner and other prisoners were limited to the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

“The exchange doesn’t do anything to change the situation for bilateral relations. There are lots of issues where they are in open confrontation,” said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He said the otherwise dire state of relations between Russia and the west was thrown into sharp relief last week, when Moscow abruptly pulled out of talks on renewing the New Start treaty, the only remaining agreement governing the countries’ nuclear arsenals.

“This is a global stability issue: the last remainders of arms control are falling apart, which could lead to an arms race and a higher risk of dangerous incidents,” he said. “The trajectory we’re on is making that all the more likely.”

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US officials began working towards Griner's release after her apprehension in Russia, focusing on a prisoner swap after the State Department declared her wrongful detention in May.

The US offered to release Bout for Griner and Whelan, but Russia also sought the release of former spy Vadim Krasikov.

The Biden administration agreed to a one-for-one swap, exchanging Bout for Griner.

The prisoner swap was facilitated by UAE officials, including President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The swap marks a rare instance of US-Russia cooperation since the Ukraine invasion.

US officials vowed to continue working for Whelan's release after he was excluded from the deal.

Griner's detention has sparked safety concerns due to her status as a Black lesbian, potentially targeting her with Putin's exclusionary politics.

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Brittney Griner Involved In Possible Prisoner Swap With Russia

In an effort to free Brittney Griner, the pro basketball star detained in Russia, the Biden administration has offered to swap her for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout and send him back to Russia, Forbes has learned. Negotiations are in the early stages, according to a non-government source in a position to know.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time WNBA all-star who also plays professionally in Russia, was arrested in Moscow Feb. 17 after customs police claimed they found vape cartridges with hash oil in her luggage. Bout, the so-called “Merchant of Death,” inspired Nicolas Cage’s gunrunner character in the 2005 film, “Lord of War.” He’s serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison since his 2011 conviction in New York federal court of conspiring to sell millions of dollars in weapons to FARC, the Colombian terror group.

The possibility of a Griner-Bout trade was reported on May 13 by Tass, Russia’s state-owned news agency, and confirmed for Forbes by the source. “Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass reported, citing “a source in the Public Monitoring Commission.” A second Moscow-based news outlet, Gazeta.Ru, had earlier reported a Griner-Bout exchange was in the works.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to comment. Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who leads the interagency team that’s working for Griner’s release, had no comment. The same was true for Bout’s New York attorney, Steve Zissou. Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner’s California agent, did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite the anti-Russian fervor in Washington sparked by President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine, the White House a month ago struck a deal to free Trevor Reed, a former Marine who had been held in a Russian prison for two years for allegedly attacking a Moscow police officer. In exchange, President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving 20 years for conspiring to import $100 million in cocaine.

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who’d been instrumental in Reed’s release, is also working on behalf of Griner’s family at their request, according to Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center. He’s also working for the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Moscow since 2018 on espionage charges. “The situation (as you might imagine) is sensitive,” Bergman said, declining to comment further.

Bout was a translator in the Soviet army before starting an air-freight company that transported tens of millions of arms he supplied during his heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s to sanctioned militias and rebels in conflicts throughout Africa and Asia. Soft-spoken, erudite, fluent in seven languages with an IQ of 170, Bout seemed more like a university professor than the world’s most notorious illegal arms trafficker. His 2008 arrest in Bangkok was part of a sting operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The U.S. government opposes the practice of wrongful detention as a bargaining chip because it represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working and living abroad, a State Department official told Forbes. That disdain, however, didn’t stop the department from helping arrange the release of Reed and others.

Griner, 31, is by far the most high profile of the more than a dozen Americans detained by Russia in the last decade. That puts more pressure on the State Department, which is acutely aware that as a Black lesbian, Griner could be a target of Putin’s exclusionary politics. Since the maximum base salary in the WNBA is $228,094 — male stars can earn as much as Steph Curry’s $45 million annually — Griner and many other American women play during the WNBA off-season in Russia, where they can bring home more than $1 million. Griner has played several years for the team in Ekaterinburg.

Griner’s U.S. supporters were at first mostly silent over her plight. The government convinced them that Russia might deport her quickly only if her case did not become front-page news. Once it became clear that Russia planned to hold her, the State Department changed her status to “wrongfully detained,” opening the door to swap negotiations. Briner’s U.S. supporters have spoken out forcefully against her imprisonment.

One lingering question is whether a deal to swap Bout for Griner will get Biden’s approval. Given the president’s declaration that Putin is a “war criminal,” some on Griner’s team worry he might hesitate before freeing an infamous Russian arms trafficker.

“There’s a problem with releasing a convicted arms trafficker for Griner, whose drug possession would probably only be a fine in the U.S.,” says Shira Scheindlin, the retired federal judge who presided over the Bout trial and was required to sentence him to the 25-year mandatory minimum. “It would be better if Bout – who has already served too much time in my opinion – was exchanged for both Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. Then there would be some moral equivalency about which few could complain.”

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A potential swap of Bout for Griner raises questions about releasing a convicted arms trafficker for someone detained on drug charges.

Brittney Griner was wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for 143 days.

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Content: The open letter to President Biden, written by hand and released on the Fourth of July, tore at the heart. This is the unfortunate plight of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, wrongfully detained for 143 days and counting in a godforsaken gulag 6,000 miles from home.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison,” Griner wrote, “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.” She went on to beseech Biden: “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”

We have been told by the White House press secretary that Biden has read the letter. We also have been told his Administration will “use every tool we possibly can” to bring Griner home. I hope so, because Russian news reports have said Griner, arrested on Feb. 17th, faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly having .702 grams of hash oil in two vape cartridges in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to drug charges on July 7.

Biden and the U.S. State Department should use every tool in America’s toolbox to secure Griner’s release – exactly as he should on behalf of the more than 60 Americans currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Like Paul Whelan, a former Marine wrongfully detained in Russia since 2018. Like “the Citgo 6,” petroleum executives wrongfully held in Venezuela since 2017. And like Alina Lopez-Miyares, wrongfully locked up in a Cuban prison since January 2017.

In a more just world, we would care about all these Americans with the same vigor and at the same loud volume. The truth? As a culture, we have a limited attention span, a finite amount of compassion we spend in dollops – a sprinkling for the homeless here, a few spoonsful for the struggling poor there, and a drip or two for Brittney Griner.

Is that right? I don’t think so. I wish

we had an endless reserve of compassion, enough to go around in the right proportions.

Even so, I disagree wholeheartedly with Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who took dead aim at America in comments supporting Griner last week.

“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard declared. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those. We know it.”

Actually, it’s a statement about how little we pay attention to wrongful detainees and their suffering. Virtually no one save the families of the imprisoned has made a peep about wrongfully imprisoned Americans anywhere, about Whelan, the Citgo 6, or Lopez-Miyares. This silence has nothing to do with race, gender, or who someone loves. It has everything to do with our culture’s capacity to empathize.

Nygaard seems to think if Griner was male, white and straight, America would be threatening nuclear war. Reality says otherwise. Nygaard is correct about one thing, though. If Lebron James was wrongfully imprisoned, Americans would be rioting in the streets.

That has everything to do with celebrity, which is the only reason you have heard about Brittney Griner’s case at all. If Griner couldn’t dribble, couldn’t dunk, wasn’t a six-time WBNA All-Star, her imprisonment would be occurring in silence.

Nygaard is dead wrong about for whom we care and why. We reserve the greatest compassion for the most famous among us – that is a perverted truth about the American way.

I hope Brittney Griner comes home soon. And I hope we bring every other wrongfully detained American home with her.

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Griner wrote to President Biden, fearing she'd be in a Russian prison forever and asking him not to forget her and other American detainees.

President Biden has read Griner's letter and vowed to use every tool to bring her home.

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges for having 0.702 grams of hash oil in her luggage.

Over 60 Americans, including Paul Whelan, the Citgo 6, and Alina Lopez-Miyares, are currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Griner's case has drawn attention due to her status as a Phoenix Mercury star and six-time WBNA All-Star.

The author believes Griner's fame prevented her imprisonment from going unnoticed.

The author hopes Griner and other wrongfully detained Americans will be brought home soon.

Brittney Griner has settled back into her US life after months in Russia.

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner’s Wife, Cherelle, Makes First Social Media Post Since WNBA Star’s Return

by Jonathan Howard

Brittney Griner is home and her wife Cherelle is relieved to have her back. She had a lot of people to thank as she broke her silence online. On Monday, Cherelle made her first social media post since Griner returned to the United States. This is an emotional time for the family.

As Brittney Griner has settled back into her life here in the states, Cherelle was thanking all of the people that helped make it possible. Griner was held in Russia for months for possessing vape pen cartridges. When an agreement on her release was made, she had been living at a Russian penal colony.

On Instagram, Cherelle was thankful for a lot of folks.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!” she wrote. “I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some – is humanity in its purest form! 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!”

In her post, she thanked the Biden Administration as well as various members of congress. While thanking all those involved, Cherelle also thanked Paul Whelan’s family.

“I appreciate each and every one of you – Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home. All families deserve to be whole!” the post ended.

Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball Workouts

While Brittney Griner is a lot of things, she is a basketball player. So, she’s already back to practicing and the WNBA forward has still got it. During her detainment and imprisonment in Russia, Griner was offered the chance to practice playing basketball. However, given her situation, it didn’t feel right.

ESPN reported that Griner had a light workout and was able to dunk a basketball. She has not made a decision on when or if she will return to basketball as a professional. After the 10 months that she has been through, it is no surprise that she is taking time to make this decision.

The entire basketball world is behind Brittney Griner. She has had a lot of support from the NBA and WNBA. When it comes time to make that decision, she will make it. Until then, it’s just about getting back to her normal life.

Outsider.com

Griner was held in a Russian penal colony.

Cherelle Griner thanked the Biden Administration and Congress for securing Brittney Griner's release.

Cherelle thanked Paul Whelan's family and called for the return of all Americans held abroad.

Brittney Griner has resumed basketball workouts, including dunking.

Griner has not decided if or when she will return to professional basketball.

The NBA and WNBA have supported Brittney Griner as she readjusts to life in America.

Brittney Griner, a WNBA player, was arrested at a Russian airport for cannabis oil possession and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Title:

Content: YEAR IN REVIEW - 2022 From A To Z: Recapping 365 Days In Just 26 Letters

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2022) Take a few minutes to recap the biggest stories we brought you in 2022, from A to Z!

The issues of abortion and reproductive healthcare were at the forefront of US political dialogue in 2022, following the May leak of a draft Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the right to regulate abortion to state governments.

In response to the ruling, a number of states quickly implemented restrictions on abortion. In July, the House passed a pair of bills to provide Federal protections for abortion providers and patients traveling between states for care.

However, with Republicans gaining control of the House and Democrats retaining control of the Senate next Congress, it is unlikely lawmakers pass either federal protections or restrictions on abortion.

During midterm elections in November, several states also held votes on their abortion policies, with states including Vermont and California solidifying abortion protections, and others including Kentucky and Montana rejecting abortion restrictions.

The United States released Russian businessman Viktor Bout from prison in December in exchange for Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Brittney Griner. Bout had served over 14 years in prison after being arrested in a US sting operation in Thailand for allegedly conspiring to supply weapons to Colombian rebels.

Griner was arrested in a Russian airport in February after law enforcement officials found her in possession of cannabis oil. She pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges, remains in custody even though the Biden administration pushed for his release as part of the exchange. Russia asserts it considers Whelan in a different category than Griner in terms of criminality.

The COVID-19 pandemic and governmental response efforts continued throughout 2022, with December marking three years since the novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China. More than 6.6 million people have died of the virus worldwide, including over one million in the US.

Cases continue to be detected worldwide, although Biden said in September that the pandemic stage is over. Nevertheless, in December, the White House relaunched a free, at-home COVID-19 testing program in anticipation of rising case numbers this winter.

The White House noted that COVID-19 remains a public health threat despite causing less disruption than during the peak of the pandemic.

Former US President Donald Trump remained in the political spotlight throughout 2022 amid federal and congressional probes into his conduct, as well as the announcement of a 2024 presidential election bid.

In August, federal agents raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence as part of an investigation into the potential mishandling of sensitive materials from his presidency. Trump has characterized the investigation as a weaponization of the US justice system against him.

Moreover, the House panel tasked with investigating the January 6 Capitol riot finished their probe into the incident, ultimately recommending Trump for criminal prosecution by the Justice Department. The panel accuses Trump of bearing responsibility for the riot and attempting to reverse the 2020 election results.

The investigations did not dissuade Trump from announcing a 2024 reelection bid in November, basing his platform on issues such as election and lobbying reform. Biden has yet to announce a 2024 campaign, although he is expected to confirm his decision early next year.

In November, the US held midterm elections across the country to determine the balance of Congress for the second half of Biden's term as president. Although a "red wave" was predicted by some, Democrats retained control of the Senate while Republicans gained a slim majority in the House.

The federal elections were the first since the 2020 US presidential race and subsequent Capitol riot on January 6, which was fueled by skepticism about electoral processes and outcomes. However, an Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe monitoring group found that the elections were competitive and professionally managed despite concerns about a divisive political environment.

Cryptocurrency company FTX, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsed in November, adding further uncertainty to a market already on the decline for much of 2022. The cryptocurrency exchange commenced voluntary bankruptcy due to a liquidity crunch and commingling of funds, with neither individual nor institutional investors expected to recover their money.

FTX's collapse prompted federal regulators and lawmakers to pursue strengthened oversight of the digital assets market, which was already under scrutiny as an emerging technology. Additionally, some Republican lawmakers have called for investigations into potential corruption involving FTX, the Democratic Party and Ukraine.

US prosecutors are charging Bankman-Fried with crimes including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and violating US campaign finance laws. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and later extradited to the US.

Following the launch of Russia's special military operation in February and subsequent sanctions, exports of grain and other agricultural products from the Black Sea halted, threatening food insecurity in countries reliant on Russian and Ukrainian goods.

On July 22, the United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine agreed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ensuring the safe export of food and fertilizers from Russian and Ukrainian ports. The deal has since been extended.

However, Russia argues that sanctions continue to hinder its grain and fertilizer exports despite the deal's terms. President Vladimir Putin has also voiced concerns about Ukrainian grain ending up in Europe instead of the world's poorest countries.

Haiti faced instability for much of 2022 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last year, with former Prime Minister Ariel Henry taking power in his wake.

Protests erupted in Haiti after Henry ended fuel subsidies, leading to rising energy prices and cost of living. In October, Henry requested foreign forces intervene to help the Haitian government combat armed gangs. The US and Mexico sent military equipment in response.

The country is also experiencing an outbreak of cholera, which started in October. As of December 11, 191 people have died of the disease and more than 12,000 others hospitalized.

In September, the Iranian "morality police" arrested 22-year old Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating laws on the wearing of hijab. Amini died in police custody, with Iranian officials claiming she died of a heart attack while protestors allege she was beaten by police.

The Iranian government's response to the protests resulted in condemnation and sanctions by the US and others, including expulsion from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Iran accuses Western countries of interfering in its domestic affairs via support for the protests.

The aforementioned death of Mahsa Amini and related protests have also taken the Biden administration's focus away from negotiating a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Talks have stalled in recent months, leading Biden to call the negotiations "dead" in a video leaked in December.

The White House does not see the parties making progress on the Iran nuclear deal in the near future, according to Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby. The US entered the JCPOA under Obama, exited it under Trump and is seeking a return to the deal under Biden.

North Korea (DPRK) launched a record number of missiles in 2022, conducting tests on 35 different days. In October, one of the test missiles flew over Japan - the first such incident since 2017.

The Biden administration warned of a potential nuclear test by the DPRK throughout the year, threatening consequences for Pyongyang if they were to conduct a test. The Biden administration claims to have repeatedly called on the DPRK to engage in dialogue, only to receive no response.

Liz Truss made history in 2022 by setting the record for shortest-serving British prime minister. Truss replaced Boris Johnson as leader of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party and became prime minister on September 6.

On October 20, her 45th day in office, Truss resigned as prime minister amid a cost of living crisis and controversial budget proposal.

Truss, who still serves in parliament, was replaced by Rishi Sunak.

The US experienced a number of mass shootings again in 2022, including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The shootings once again brought attention to the issue of gun control in Congress, with lawmakers passing a bipartisan gun control bill in June.

As of December 20, there have been 636 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive.

In September, Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were sabotaged in a series of clandestine bombings.

An investigation into the incident led by the Swedish Security Service determined it to be an act of sabotage. The Russian Defense Ministry accused the UK Royal Navy of involvement in the attack, which the UK denied.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has not transported any gas since August when Russia shut it down, citing maintenance issues related to sanctions. Nord Stream 2 has never been put into operation, as Germany halted the certification process following Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

In February, China hosted the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, following the delayed summer games in Tokyo just six months earlier. Norway won a record 16 gold medals, Germany 12 and China 9, earning them the top three places on the medal table.

Officials from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Belgium and several other countries engaged in a diplomatic boycott of the games over human rights concerns.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in November that she will be stepping down from Democratic Party leadership positions next year, honoring an informal 2018 deal to step down as speaker after four years. Pelosi entered Congress in 1987, serving as speaker under four administrations: from 2007 to 2011 under Bush and Obama, and again from 2019 to present under Trump and Biden.

Pelosi made the announcement following midterm elections, during which Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives. Pelosi said she will continue to serve in Congress as a representative of San Francisco.

In August, Pelosi and other lawmakers made a contentious trip to Taiwan despite warnings by the Biden administration, sparking condemnation and heightened military activity by the government of China. Pelosi was the first US House Speaker to visit Taiwan since Newt Gingrich in 1997.

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died in September at the age of 96. Her state funeral, attended by a number of world leaders including Biden, became one of the most viewed events in UK television history, with over 26 million people tuning in to watch.

Elizabeth II's eldest son, Charles III, was proclaimed king following her passing.

Railworker unions and railroad companies have been battling over worker attendance policies for several years, with the US government's National Mediation board assisting in negotiations since June 2021.

However, the situation came to the brink of crisis in 2022, with Biden's team informing him in July that the labor dispute posed a substantial threat to interstate commerce and essential transportation services.

In November, the House of Representatives passed a tentative version of a labor agreement between the parties amid a looming strike, with the Senate following in December. Biden signed the agreement into law, intervening to avoid the potentially catastrophic strike - a power granted under the Railway Labor Act.

As the conflict in Ukraine continued on, so too did efforts by the US and its network of partners to impose a number of sanctions on Russia. Everything from government officials to banks, to luxury goods, as well as a number of individuals, entities and items have been subject to financial restrictions in an effort to impose costs on Russia for its special military operation.

At the forefront of the sanctions regime was an effort to impose a multilateral price cap on Russian oil. A coalition of countries, led by the US, set a flexible price cap designed to limit the impact on the global energy market while curbing Russian revenues from oil sales.

Russia condemned countries participating in the price cap, threatening to withhold oil from them entirely and reduce overall oil production.

In April, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk offered to purchase social media company Twitter for $43 billion. After a series of legal battles over the number of fake accounts on the platform, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October.

Musk's reforms to the platform include a focus on protecting freedom of speech, combating inauthentic accounts and removing bans on accounts such as that of former US President Donald Trump.

Musk, who used his status as chief of Twitter to comment on a number of political issues such as the prospect of peace in Ukraine, has faced extensive criticism in the role. In December, Musk expressed a desire to step down as CEO of the company.

Perhaps no other story has received as much attention in 2022 as the conflict in Ukraine. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to help protect the Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine's east, targeted by Kiev since 2014.

The operation drew condemnation by the US, NATO, UN and other international bodies, who characterized the action as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia contends the operation is aimed at "denazifying" Ukraine.

In September, the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions voted to join Russia through referenda. Fighting is expected to continue into 2023, although changes in the frontlines have slowed as both sides prepare for the winter months.

In March, the US began expressing interest in working with Venezuela on global energy supply concerns in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, which prompted a number of sanctions on Russian oil and caused instability in world markets.

In May, the US issued a narrow license authorizing energy company Chevron to negotiate future activities in Venezuela. Chevron confirmed to Sputnik in November that the company received US government authorization to extract oil in Venezuela. However, sources also told Sputnik that a blanket lifting of sanctions is unlikely.

Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup from November 20 to December 18, becoming the first country in the Muslim world to host the tournament. Argentina ultimately won the tournament, defeating France 4-2 on penalties in the final match, with their team captain, Lionel Messi, winning the Golden Ball award for best player.

However, the tournament was the subject of a number of controversies, including concerns about Qatar's human rights record, their treatment of LGBT fans and restrictions on alcohol.

Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping was elected to an unprecedented third term as leader during the 20th National Communist Party Congress in October.

The next month, Xi met with Biden for the first time since the latter took office as president. During the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, the leaders discussed issues including Taiwan, North Korea and the conflict in Ukraine.

In April, the United Nations helped facilitate a nationwide truce between the parties to the conflict in Yemen, which has been ongoing since 2014. The truce was extended several times. The UN Security Council praised the agreement as a foundation for progress toward a political settlement of the conflict.

However, in October, the UN announced that the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels had failed to negotiate a further extension.

Ending our list is a double entry, with both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the literal letter "Z" as emblematized by the Russian military serving as contrasting representations of the two conflicting sides at the center of the 2022 news cycle.

Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, has served as Ukraine's leader and public figurehead throughout Russia's special military operation. A former comedian turned politician, Zelenskyy spoke virtually with a number of world leaders and organizations from Ukraine during the conflict, eventually traveling to Washington to meet with Biden and appeal to the US Congress in person in December.

The "Z" painted upon Russian equipment used in the special military operation has also become a symbol of their larger effort to reunite Russian-speaking populations under a single nation, with the Ministry of Defense saying the non-Cyrillic letter represents the phrase "for victory," or "za pobedu" in Russian.

The US released Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, remains in Russian custody despite US efforts to secure his release.

Russia views Paul Whelan's case as distinct from Brittney Griner's, complicating his release efforts.

The Biden administration is criticized for not securing the release of detained Americans in Russia, including Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

The prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner is seen as a Biden administration diplomatic victory, but raises questions about future exchanges.

The detention of Brittney Griner and other Americans in Russia highlights tense US-Russia relations.

The U.S. government has proclaimed Brittney Griner 'wrongfully detained'.

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Content: Connect with us

Opinions

Where does wrongful detention of Brittney Griner go from here?

She will inevitably be labeled a hostage

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Brittney Griner

It seems like years rather than weeks ago that American political prisoner, Trevor Reed, was released from Russia in a prisoner swap. It also seems like years since an American citizen, basketball superstar Brittney Griner, was taken into custody in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for allegedly having hashish oil in her possession.

We now know what many of us believed all along – that Brittney Griner was, in the far too late proclamation by the U.S. government, “wrongfully detained.” In diplomacy-speak, wrongfully detained is synonymous with politically detained, which is super close to what will soon enough inevitably happen – calling Brittney Griner a hostage.

Since the beginning of Griner’s detention, I have done dozens of print, radio, TV, and related interviews, and I have a pretty clear view of how and why we got here.

As I wrote around six weeks ago, if we read between the lines of what’s being said in traditional and social media, we can extract three key reasons why the Griner situation isn’t getting the attention that it should be and would be if it was a different athlete.

The first reason is that Brittney Griner is not a terribly high-profile athlete.

This is patently untrue. As I have been commenting from the minute we learned that she was taken into custody by the Russians, Griner was absolutely the highest-profile American athlete that Russia could have taken into custody as they were preparing for their brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The only other high-profile athletes playing in Russia or transiting through at that time were the very few American players in Russia’s top hockey league, the KHL. None are superstars in their sport, as Griner is.

The second argument for why Griner isn’t getting the attention she should be is that she is LGBTQ.

I have argued that this is a reasonably good hypothesis. It just seems that a straight athlete would be getting a lot more attention and public sympathy than Griner has, in part, yet not in full, because of her sexual orientation. That’s a remarkably harsh position to have to take in 2022, yet it’s clear that Griner doesn’t fit the mold of what many Americans see as that all-American athlete. That one’s sexual or gender orientation should drive the American public’s level of sympathy for one of their own top athletes is a shame, but here we are.

The third and most commonly cited reason for Brittany Griner getting less attention than another athlete in a similar situation is that she’s Black.

This argument holds little weight with me. Yes, it makes sense that in comparison to a high-profile white athlete, some people are simply going to care less about a Black athlete. Again, that’s a harsh analysis, yet not unaligned with many things going on in the nation today.

But I think this is a reductive argument that crumbles under the weight of the analogy that I usually use during TV and radio broadcasts about the Griner case – and that is, what if this was Kyrie Irving?

I like to use Kyrie Irving as an analogy because he is a highly controversial Black athlete. Obviously, NBA players don’t have to have second jobs in places like Russia, Turkey, and China, to make ends meet, as the WNBA women do. But just imagine that Kyrie Irving was traveling alone through Moscow airport. If Irving had been taken into custody by the Russians, I can guarantee that this would be front-page news not just in the sports section but on the front page of all significant papers practically every day. That simply hasn’t been the case with Brittney Griner.

Every day, I am asked where this goes from here. With Griner’s May 19 hearing delayed “one month” (though at the time of writing, no date has been set), I remained convinced of two things: that this goes to a worse place than we are now and that it progresses painfully slowly.

As to the first point, to maximize leverage over the United States, it’s likely that Griner will end up somewhere like a Russian labor camp before she ever steps back into the United States. While Russia does not follow the Rule of Law, it would be neither legally nor politically expedient to just hold Griner in a Moscow jail or prison indefinitely. They need to make her situation worse to turn up the urgency of the case for the American government.

But this indeed won’t happen overnight. As I’ve also been saying all along, the next hearing date will also be delayed, OR we will learn through a TASS Russian media release that Griner was tried, found guilty of all charges, and sentenced (see labor camp, above).

As to what each of us can do, my advice remains the same: Keep talking about it. Make this Brittney as viral as Britney Spears was a year ago. Just as Britney Spears’ freedom from her conservatorship was turbo-charged by the #FreeBritney hashtag, let’s #FreeBrittney now.

This is significantly less trite than it sounds. There is no indication that the American government doesn’t want you to forget about Brittney Griner. As former hostage Jason Rezaian discussed on an excellent recent Washington Post podcast, he always “calls BS” on those parties, saying we should keep detentions such as Griner’s out of the public spotlight. He advocates being as loud as we can be on this, which is why I keep doing interviews on this issue as much as possible.

Ultimately, Brittney Griner will be a political prisoner until the United States and Russia can decide, in crass basketball terms, on a fair player trade. On Friday, we learned that the two sides might actually be in discussions now for a trade involving Griner for notorious convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, aka the “Merchant of Death.”

Unless this can re-enter and remain in the public spotlight, along with any pressure on the government, Britney Griner will not get the treatment she deserves as one of the greatest basketball players of her generation. That the massive disparity between how NBA and WNBA players are compensated laid the foundation for her to be in this position is the harsh reality these leagues face today. Yet it pales compared to the uncertain reality Griner faces today in a Moscow jail.

A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the chief legal analyst for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world.

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Leave no one behind: Building an LGBTQ+ movement for all

A just society is only achievable by investing in dignity of the marginalized

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Despite the expansion of LGBTQ+ civil rights and liberties in D.C., some of which we proudly attribute to GLAA’s stalwart activism for the past 51 years, the most vulnerable members of our community continue to suffer from poverty, homelessness, criminalization, discrimination, social isolation, and preventable death. A jaw-dropping 40% of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ people experience hunger at twice the rate of straight people, and right here in D.C., the Office of Human Rights reports that employers are more likely to interview a less-qualified cisgender job applicant than a more-qualified transgender applicant.

So for our 2022 candidate ratings, GLAA decided to emphasize that racial and economic justice are LGBTQ+ justice issues. While we recognize the importance of openly LGBTQ+ candidates, we know one’s identity does not indicate where they stand on critical issues. Something many of us have learned the hard way, and something GLAA leadership recognizes not championing sooner as a mistake. What matters most is a candidate’s demonstrated record and vision to support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.

It is not enough for candidates to respond only to the needs of those who historically have held the most power in the LGBTQ+ community, particularly white cisgender gay men, in order to tout support of the entire community. The LGBTQ+ community is so many different people, and it is time we push candidates to consider and address us in our entirety. For too long, many LGBTQ+ people have felt rejected and betrayed by our community’s movement priorities, narratives about what our community stands for, and decisions on who is valued and who is selected to represent or lead us. And, while GLAA understands no one politician or organization can erase these community divides, we aim to be intentional in our approach to dismantle that which stands in our entire community’s way toward liberation. That is why, in 2022 we decided to rate candidates on their responses and records of support on issues that impact the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community. None of us is free until all of us are free.

Throughout GLAA’s history we have focused on securing LGBTQ+ rights, which have mostly strengthened the legal protections of people privileged enough to take advantage of them. GLAA decided to focus the Leave No One Behind: 2022 Election Guide and questionnaire on racial and economic justice with an LGBTQ+ lens. We did this to build on our victories, such as successfully advocating for the defunding of the Metropolitan Police Department’s vice squad in the 1970s, and to learn from our mistakes.

It is our belief that a just, peaceful, and vibrant society is only achievable by actively investing in the security and dignity of the poor and marginalized members of all our communities. Our questionnaire intentionally acts in solidarity with D.C. anti-poverty, anti-stigma, and anti-overdose campaigns, which are largely led by trans and queer people of color.

Ratings are on a scale of +/-10 points: yes/no responses on questionnaire (+/-2); substance of response (+/-4); and candidate’s public record (+/-4). Candidates earned partial credit for the yes/no category if they partially agreed with the question. Four issues received more than 91% agreement: increasing the affordable housing stock for the poorest residents, housing people using government funded vouchers, fully funding the Office of Human Rights, and better oversight to improve conditions in the DC Jail.

Three issues received 70-79% candidates’ support, and over 90% when including candidates who issued partial support: Repealing the sub-minimum wage, decriminalization of drug use, and reducing the population of D.C. jail by 30%.

Finally, the least supported policies were decriminalization of consensual sex work and divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department and investing in violence prevention and recidivism prevention programs. Even still, there was remarkable consensus: over 2/3 or 66% of candidates who issued total or partial support.

We are encouraged by the remarkable level of consensus on all of our issues, signaling that D.C. is ready for transformative change that at its core addresses the District’s current poverty, unaffordable housing, community and police-based violence, and overdose crises.

GLAA is excited to see more LGBTQ+ people on ballots. More exciting, however, is the number of politicians with fully realized and integrated LGBTQ+ policies in their platforms. Policies that extend across race and class lines. GLAA firmly believes all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can be stewards of LGBTQ+ liberation. It is our hope that readers find these ratings not as endorsements, but as a starting point to imagine what is possible if local officials are guided by D.C. residents to use their elected power to create new possibilities that leave no one behind.

This opinion piece was signed by the 2022 Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance board of directors.

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GLAA has lost its way and should close

Their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election

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(Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), once a respected organization, has now lost its way. It once represented all the members of the LGBTQ+ community, clearly no longer the case, as one can tell based on their questionnaire and ratings. They now represent only the far left in the community and are seeking to represent more than LGBTQ+ people as the statement from their current president suggests. That is not the role of GLAA.

One of the questions in this year’s questionnaire that candidates were asked to respond to is: “Do you support divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to further invest in vital programs, including anti-poverty, violence prevention, crisis intervention, and reentry?” If you didn’t say yes, you lost points. This shows how out of touch they are as the DC Council just voted unanimously, on a first vote, to raise the budget of the MPD. The approved budget also includes increased funding for other vital programs. There’s no indication GLAA ever spoke to Council members on this issue.

Its website lists five officers, all men, with a blurb on each. The one for the president, in addition to listing past and current employment, says, “When he is not organizing, he loves asking people about their Myers Briggs Type (he is ENFP, for the record), doing gay crimes (the basics like drugs and public sex), having Spicy Vanilla sex, dancing to hot beats on the dance floor, practicing vulnerability, plotting revolution against capitalism and other forms of oppression.” He is entitled to his views. But I question how his leading the GLAA represents the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Over the years I’ve had issues with some of what GLAA has done and some of the issues they focused on. But the organization always represented the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community in their questionnaire. Candidates getting a rating from the organization could feel it represented a wide range of opinion in the community. I would hope no candidate tries to pawn the current ratings off as any kind of support from the broader LGBTQ + community.

In the past you always knew their officers, including Rick Rosendall, Bob Summersgill and Jeff Coudriet among others, were involved with D.C. government and knew the issues in-depth. They knew the candidates. Responding to their questionnaire over the years was always interesting. Rick often was the one who spent hours drafting the questions. I always wondered why it was never enough to say yes you agree with their premise. Instead, you had to say it in hundreds, even thousands, of words to earn points. I know as I have filled out questionnaires for many candidates.

Today their website lists nine project areas, none with anything accomplished since 2016. The blog has nothing on any recent budget issues or legislation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, only information about the questionnaire. They claim to lobby the Council and monitor government agencies, but there is no indication of any meetings or testimony since 2017.

We can thank GLAA for the fact that today no politician can win office in D.C. without being supportive of the LGBTQ community. However, today their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election. Since this is now the only thing they do it’s time to close up shop. We have moved past the time in D.C. when a small number of people can sit in a room rating candidates they don’t know, on issues that don’t represent the community they are supposed to be representing.

So personally, I say thank you to all the people who worked hard over many years for GLAA to help move the LGBTQ community forward. I recognize there is much work still to be done but GLAA is not the organization to do it. We must work to ensure economic and civil justice for all members of our community; health equity for transgender persons; senior housing for our community; and employment opportunities for all, among other issues. But there are other LGBTQ organizations, and community organizations, doing these things better and the few members GLAA might still have should be directed to those other organizations.

If as their website claims they are planning an anniversary celebration, it should be one to honor all the people who in the past 50 years of the organization, worked hard and were successful in making my life and the lives of so many LGBTQ people in the District of Columbia and around the nation better. That would be an exciting way to say goodbye and celebrate the organization whose time it is to close.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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An unlikely revolution is happening at Christian universities

More than half have enacted LGBTQ non-discrimination policies

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Recent headlines have been filled with messages of doom and gloom for LGBTQ people. From bans on transgender women competing in sports to “don’t say gay” laws, it seems evident that conservative Republicans are freshly committed to rolling back the rights of LGBTQ people across the United States.

Yet, despite such recent setbacks, a student-led movement for LGBTQ inclusion is gaining ground in what would seem to be one of the unlikeliest settings — Christian colleges and universities.

Over the past few years, I’ve collected extensive data on U.S. Christian colleges and universities’ policies toward LGBTQ students. In one study, I found that 55% of all Christian colleges and universities in the United States have nondiscrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation. In another recent study, I found that nearly half of all Christian colleges and universities are home to officially recognized LGBTQ student groups.

Even some of the most conservative Christian colleges and universities have changed their approach to LGBTQ students. When analyzing data collected in 2013, I found that nearly one-third of all Christian colleges and universities had adopted bans on so-called “homosexual acts” or “homosexual behavior” in their student handbooks. Yet, when reviewing Christian colleges and universities’ handbooks again over the past year, I found that under one-fourth of Christian colleges and universities had such discriminatory bans.

Why are some Christian colleges and universities becoming more accommodating—and even welcoming—to LGBTQ students?

There are several major reasons, but one of the most important is that several Christian denominations already embrace their LGBTQ members. Denominations such as the Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Disciples of Christ, and Presbyterian Church USA, for example, allow ministers to officiate same-sex weddings. An increasing number of nondenominational churches also affirm LGBTQ people. Those Christian colleges and universities that are already associated with affirming denominations are certainly among the most likely to affirm their LGBTQ students.

Another reason that many Christian colleges and universities are becoming welcoming toward LGBTQ students is that they do not necessarily believe their primary mission is to hold all students to the specific religious tenets of their associated denomination. Rather, they see their primary mission as providing an important service (education) to the broader society. Just as Christian hospitals do not refuse to provide medical treatment to people who are not members of their associated denominations, many Christian colleges and universities have chosen not to deny people an education simply because certain people are not members of their associated denominations.

A rising number of Christian colleges and universities also recognize the harms that occur when people are discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A recent survey by Religious Exemption Accountability Project shows that 12% of all Christian college and university students self-identify as LGBTQ. Because studies show that LGBTQ people in non-affirming Christian colleges and universities report greater rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, many Christian schools understand they would be harming a significant number of their students if they continued to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

And still other schools are simply concerned with their bottom lines. The United States is projected to go over a “demographic cliff” in 2025, at which time the number of 18-year-olds nationwide will drop dramatically. Some reports say that one-third of all private colleges and universities nationwide will face major financial crises over the next decade, causing them to close or pursue mergers. Many Christian colleges and universities recognize that adopting discriminatory policies toward LGBTQ students would alienate significant portions of their potential student body.

Certainly, despite these encouraging trends, those who are committed to LGBTQ rights should not be complacent. Many schools have still been slow to extend nondiscrimination protections and housing accommodations to trans students. And the Religious Exemption Accountability Project estimates that as many as 100,000 LGBTQ students are currently enrolled at Christian colleges and universities that still refuse to affirm the dignity and rights of LGBTQ people. That organization recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, challenging the federal government’s policy of providing loans even to Christian colleges and universities that otherwise violate Title IX protections for LGBTQ students.

It is likely the case that some Christian colleges and universities will not change their policies toward LGBTQ rights unless they are legally required to do so. Still, at Christian colleges and universities across the United States, LGBTQ students are not waiting around. LGBTQ students are actively mobilizing to bring about inclusive policies at their schools, and at a surprising number of schools, they are succeeding.

Jonathan S. Coley is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University and a Public Fellow at the Public Religion Research Institute.

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Griner's detention may be labeled a hostage situation to leverage the US.

Griner may be sent to a Russian labor camp.

The US government's response to Griner's detention has been criticized as slow and inadequate.

Title:

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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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...

The Brittney Griner case highlights the WNBA's pay disparity with the NBA, forcing many players to play overseas.

The U.S. may swap Griner for convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Griner's detention has received less attention and sympathy due to her sexual orientation and race.

Brittney Griner's detention highlights the need for the US to prioritize releasing wrongfully detained Americans abroad.

Brittney Griner testified that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport.

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison on drug charges.

She was detained after hashish oil was found in her luggage.

Griner said she was not given an interpreter and didn't understand the papers she signed.

Griner pleaded guilty, but claimed it was unintentional.

The US has made a substantial offer to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan.

US officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Griner's case has highlighted strained US-Russia relations over Ukraine.

The US wants to see those wrongfully detained released and returned home, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Kremlin claims Griner's case is not political and she should be tried under Russian law.

Title:

Content:   • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.