Here is a well-written summary or report based on the search findings:

The story of Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, is a complex and multifaceted one, involving the intersection of sports, gender, and politics in international relations.

Griner was detained in Russia in 2022 for possession of cannabis oil, and her detention was extended several times by Russian officials.

The US government considered Griner's detention as "wrongful" and worked tirelessly to secure her release, with President Joe Biden involved in negotiations.

Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court, hoping for a lenient penalty, but was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian penal colony.

The US government offered a prisoner swap, exchanging Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer, for Griner and Paul Whelan, another American detainee.

However, the prisoner swap ultimately only included Griner, with Whelan being left behind, sparking criticism and concerns about the deal.

Griner's detention and imprisonment were seen as a political issue, with her case highlighting the strained relations between the US and Russia, particularly amidst the tensions over Ukraine.

The US government faced criticism for its handling of Griner's case, with many calling for her release and accusing Russia of using her as a political pawn.

Griner's experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by challenges, including being denied phone calls for 117 days and facing a hostile environment.

The Biden administration made a "substantial proposal" to Russia for Griner's release, which was ultimately accepted, leading to her exchange for Viktor Bout.

Griner's release was facilitated by the UAE, and she was finally freed from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker.

The prisoner swap was seen as a "painful" choice by US officials, who had to weigh the benefits of securing Griner's release against the costs of freeing a convicted arms dealer.

Griner's case brought attention to the issue of wrongful detainees and the need for the US government to work to secure their release.

After her release, Griner returned to the US, where she was reunited with her family and began to adjust to life back home.

The US government continued to work to secure the release of other American detainees, including Paul Whelan, who remains imprisoned in Russia.

The intersection of sports, gender, and politics in international relations is complex and multifaceted, with Griner's case highlighting the need for greater awareness and understanding.

The use of sports and celebrities for political purposes can have significant implications for LGBTQ+ individuals and women's sports, highlighting the need for governments and sports organizations to balance their interests with the need to promote inclusivity and support marginalized groups.

Overall, the story of Brittney Griner is a powerful reminder of the complex and often fraught relationship between sports, politics, and international relations, and the need for greater awareness and understanding of these issues.

Note: The references in brackets at the end of each sentence are the doc_id of the source document.

Here is a well-written summary or report based on the search findings:

The story of Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, is a complex and multifaceted one, involving the intersection of sports, gender, and politics in international relations.

Title:

Content: Commentary

Press Secretary Touts Griner as 'Inspiration' to LGBT While Downplaying the Abandonment of Marine Veteran

Well, President Joe Biden has traded “the Merchant of Death” to Russia for a basketball player with a checkered past, all while leaving a former Marine to rot in prison.

But don’t worry, because White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has reassured us that it’s entirely worth it because the basketball player also is a hero to the LGBT community.

Yup, this is really where we’re at.

ICYMI, the now-former Russian prisoner is Brittney Griner, a 32-year-old WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was arrested in February in Russia on drug charges.

Griner arrived back in the United States — in San Antonio — early Friday after the Biden administration brokered a deal with the Russian government to trade her for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Trending:
Biden Gets Snubbed by Key Democrat Amid Speculation of a Party Switch

Meanwhile, Paul Whelan, a security executive from Michigan who was arrested in 2018 and convicted in 2020 on espionage charges that he and the U.S. say are baseless, remains in prison in Russia. He received a 16-year sentence.

So not only was Griner traded for an incredibly dangerous U.S. prisoner, but the Biden administration got her freed before Whelan despite supposedly trying for his release for much longer.

According to NBC News, the Biden admin was offered either Griner or no one in exchange for Bout. The outlet also said Whelan is being treated differently by the Russians because he was convicted of espionage, which is what Jean-Pierre told reporters when pressed about the trade.

“The choice was bring Brittney home or no one. The president will never stop working to secure Paul Whelan’s release,” she said during a press briefing.

“On a personal note,” she added, “Brittney is an important role model, an inspiration to millions of Americans, particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color.”

Jean-Pierre indeed is an authority on LGBT women of color, as she is the first openly gay and non-white White House press secretary, something one imagines she holds dear because she’s brought little else to the briefing room since taking over for Jen Psaki in May.

Griner, meanwhile, clearly is Jean-Pierre’s idea of American heroism — the press secretary also described the basketball player, who pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges in the United States in 2015 — as representing “the best of America.”

Related:
Watch: Biden Won't Even Look at Reporters While They Try to Ask Him Questions

Whelan’s family members, who NBC reported were warned ahead of time that he would not be released in the one-on-one trade, were clear they did not hold the government’s failure to release their loved one against Griner.

“It is so important to me that it is clear that we do not begrudge Ms. Griner her freedom,” Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, told NBC. “As I have often remarked, Brittney’s and Paul’s cases were never really intertwined. It has always been a strong possibility that one might be freed without the other.”

Whelan himself was incredibly gracious about Griner’s release, emphasizing that it was better that her trade happen than “waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”

He is a credit to the military he served in, a military that seems to be consistently disgraced by our current administration.

Whelan’s Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, also made the  interesting and chivalrous comment that it was “more humane” to release Griner because she is a woman and Olympic champion, while his client has been in the military, so therefore it would be “easier for him to be in custody.”

(Indeed, it reportedly was difficult for the 6-foot-9 Griner in the Russian prison, although her attorneys said this was due to her height.)

Let’s be real — it’s no wonder that Russia offered Griner or no one.

This couldn’t have been more perfectly designed by Russia to make the United States look absurdly weak on the world stage, and you cannot ignore the pressing question as to whether Griner’s release  actually was worth the trade of Bout, the brutal arms dealer.

In the middle of his country’s war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin trades a dangerous arms dealer for a basketball player, and the best Jean-Pierre can say is that Griner is an inspiration to the LGBT community?

Don’t get me wrong — I think it’s likely that Griner was imprisoned on trumped-up political charges, as she foolishly broke Russian law, and I don’t take her imprisonment lightly. I think it is a fine man who will celebrate the release of a female civilian from prison over himself.

Did Biden win the Griner trade?

But I don’t take his imprisonment lightly, either, nor the significance of my nation’s posture as it contrasts with the Russian regime in such a volatile juncture of world history.

Just as Russia’s testosterone-soaked military recruitment ads make a humiliating mess of our own “woke” recruitment strategy, furnishing a seriously bad dude in exchange for a woman whose best contribution to our country is playing basketball professionally and being a lesbian tells you everything you need to know about how Biden is making our country look to the world.

I can’t imagine the disgrace felt by Whelan and thousands of other heroes like him who signed up to protect our country and liberty worldwide but are being left to rot in Russian prisons so the president can increase his woke points.

This is what our country’s leaders now value. Sexual identity trumps not only national pride, but international security.

What a disgrace.

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Isa grew up in San Francisco, where she was briefly a far-left socialist before finding Jesus and her husband in Hawaii. She now homeschools their two boys and freelances in the Ozarks.
Isa grew up in San Francisco, where she was briefly a far-left socialist before finding Jesus and her husband in Hawaii. She now homeschools their two boys and freelances in the Ozarks.

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Griner was detained in Russia in 2022 for possession of cannabis oil, and her detention was extended several times by Russian officials.

Title:

Content: HOMEPAGE

Brittney Griner's agent calls on Biden and Harris to 'do whatever it takes' to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity

  • Brittney Griner's agent called on Biden and Harris to "do whatever it takes" to get the WNBA player out of Russian jail.
  • Griner's imprisonment was just extended to July 2, Russian state media reported.
  • "Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn," her agent said.

Brittney Griner's agent called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to "do whatever it takes" to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity.

"Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn. Her detention is inhumane and unacceptable," Lindsay Kagawa Colas tweeted Tuesday, referring to Russian state media TASS's reporting that Griner's imprisonment has been extended until July 2.

She continued: "We call on @POTUS and @VP to act with urgency and do whatever it takes to bring Brittney home immediately."

Colas added that Griner has not had a phone call in "117 days of wrongful detention."

Tuesday's extension is the second time Russian officials extended Griner's detention.

She was first arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 when officials found vape cartridges in her luggage, and she has been held in a Russian prison since.

"We must fight for BG like family because as an American, she is all of ours," Colas said.

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The US government considered Griner's detention as "wrongful" and worked tirelessly to secure her release, with President Joe Biden involved in negotiations.

Title:

Content: U.S. made 'substantial' offer for Brittney Griner prisoner swap with Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says
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U.S. made 'substantial' offer for Brittney Griner prisoner swap with Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States made a "substantial" proposal to Russia to bring home wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, who is also serving a prison sentence in Russia.

CNN reported that the U.S. offered Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed "The Merchant of Death," for the prisoner swap. A prisoner swap freed former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed from a Russian penal colony in April.

Blinken added he would engage with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It was the first public acknowledgement of a deal that could involve a prisoner swap or addressing the sanctions placed on the country after it invaded Ukraine.

“My hope would be that in speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home,” Blinken said.

Blinken said President Joe Biden has been directly involved in the negotiations and he signed off on the offer to Moscow.

The president “signs off on any proposal that we make, certainly when it comes to Americans who are being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this specific case,” Blinken said.

He said the U.S. agreement to free American Trevor Reed shows that Biden "is prepared to make tough decisions if it means the safe return of Americans."

Blinken added: "There is utility in sending clear, direct messages to the Russians on key priorities for us. These include the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, and following through on the grain agreement."

Griner appeared in court Wednesday for the sixth time since her trial began July 1. She has been detained on drug charges for carrying vape cartridges containing marijuana while traveling to the country on Feb. 17. Her detention in Russia, regardless of a verdict, has been authorized until Dec. 20. Whelan has been in custody since 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges the U.S. disputes.

Bout was handed a 25-year sentence in 2012 for conspiring to sell weapons to people who planned to kill Americans.

“He’s a bad dude,” Rob Saale, a former hostage negotiator with the FBI, told USA TODAY Sports.

Any deal involving him would involve multiple U.S. prisoners, Saale said. Blinken wouldn't comment on the Russian response to the offer, although CNN reported it was floated last month.

"I'm not going to characterize it," Blinken said. "My interest and my focus is that to the best of my ability, we get the yes.

"This is something that we are focused on 24/7."

The WNBA and Players' Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Contributing: Lindsay Schnell; Associated Press

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court, hoping for a lenient penalty, but was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian penal colony.

Title:

Content: Categories
Finance

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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The US government offered a prisoner swap, exchanging Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer, for Griner and Paul Whelan, another American detainee.

Title:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

( With inputs from ANI )

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

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However, the prisoner swap ultimately only included Griner, with Whelan being left behind, sparking criticism and concerns about the deal.

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's detention and imprisonment were seen as a political issue, with her case highlighting the strained relations between the US and Russia, particularly amidst the tensions over Ukraine.

Title:

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 US government faced criticism for its handling of Griner's case, with many calling for her release and accusing Russia of using her as a political pawn.

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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Griner's experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by challenges, including being denied phone calls for 117 days and facing a hostile environment.

The Biden administration made a "substantial proposal" to Russia for Griner's release, which was ultimately accepted, leading to her exchange for Viktor Bout.

Griner's release was facilitated by the UAE, and she was finally freed from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker.

The prisoner swap was seen as a "painful" choice by US officials, who had to weigh the benefits of securing Griner's release against the costs of freeing a convicted arms dealer.

Griner's case brought attention to the issue of wrongful detainees and the need for the US government to work to secure their release.

After her release, Griner returned to the US, where she was reunited with her family and began to adjust to life back home.

The US government continued to work to secure the release of other American detainees, including Paul Whelan, who remains imprisoned in Russia.

The intersection of sports, gender, and politics in international relations is complex and multifaceted, with Griner's case highlighting the need for greater awareness and understanding.

The use of sports and celebrities for political purposes can have significant implications for LGBTQ+ individuals and women's sports, highlighting the need for governments and sports organizations to balance their interests with the need to promote inclusivity and support marginalized groups.

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Content: Saudi Arabia: Will global football stars have a political impact? | Politics and economics | In-depth analysis with a broader perspective than DW | DW | 08.09.2023
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Saudi Arabia: Will global football stars have a political impact?
Saudi Arabia has been criticised for its human rights record, using some of the world ’ s most famous footballers.
But the question is: can this lead to positive changes in the kingdom?
Hala Ronaldo, with a legendary reception Saudi Arabia welcomed the Portuguese star to join the Saudi victory team in early 2023.
Last week, Real Madrid professional German footballer Tony Kroos told reporters that Saudi Arabia was destroying the football game.
Sporting commentators and fans alike have criticized the fact that Saudi Arabia recently lured some of the world ’ s most famous footballers to join the Saudi domestic league with exorbitant salaries of tens of millions of dollars a year.
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian Neymar, French striker Karim Benzema, Senegalese Sadio Mane and a number of others have all signed contracts with teams in the Saudi football league, the so-called "Rochon" league.
It is estimated that the value of their deals could exceed $1 billion (€926 million), in salaries for about 20 international players.
In an August interview with the German edition of Sports Illustrated, Kroos said of the players who left for Saudi Arabia: “In the end, it ’ s a decision about money – and against football. ”
"From that point on, it becomes difficult for the football we all know and love.
Argentine star Messi chose not to play in Saudi Arabia, but got a multimillion-dollar deal as a tourism ambassador to the country.
But can football make the position of the autocratic government in Saudi Arabia more difficult?
After all, the increasingly close look by the international community that comes with such high-profile players also means more attention to the way Saudi Arabia is governed as a monarchy, as well as its poor human rights record.
Cross himself said he would not go to the Saudi league because of the human rights situation there.
Saudi Sports Strategy
Saudi Arabia ’ s coordinated campaign to play a much bigger role in international football is part of the ambitious “Saudi Vision 2030 ” plan for the oil-rich Gulf state.
The plan aims to diversify the country ’ s economy away from oil income by developing sectors such as tourism and entertainment.
Through various financial instruments and sponsorship, Saudis have also invested huge sums in everything from golf, cricket, cycling, Formula 1, tennis, wrestling and more recently mixed martial arts.
Saudi investments in golf have been just as controversial as investments in football, if not more so.
Football was not always on the agenda.
As noted by James Dorsey, a football expert in the Middle East, the early advisors who worked on Saudi Arabia ’ s national sports strategy were asked to focus on individual sports such as tennis or golf rather than team sports.
James Dorsey is a senior fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, and is also the author of the joint newsletter, “The Turbulent World of Football in the Middle East, ” and in his August column, stated that“ the lessening of focus on team sports was intended to limit the potential of football as a venue for anti-government protests. ”
Football as a possible problem
There are plenty of historical examples of how football can be politically troublesome in the region.
In 1958, during the Algerian campaign for independence from the French colonial power, some of Algeria ’ s best players sparked controversy by defecting from the French football league to form their own independent national team.
In 2000, Libyan football fans stormed the stadium in Benghazi after an unfair match against a club owned by dictator Muammar Gaddafi ’ s son.
In 2011, Egypt ’ s fanatical football fans known as the ultras played an important role in the revolution that eventually toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.
More recently, Qatar changed its labor laws following international criticism before and during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which it hosted.
A fan of the Al-Ahly club bears the slogan of the "Ultras Ahlawi" association, and some Egyptian Ultras groups are still classified as terrorist organizations today.
Despite these examples, the advice to stay away from team sports seems to have been abandoned after 2018, when Saudi Arabia ’ s ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidated his grip on power.
The Saudi government now says its focus on football is on economic diversification, developing sports infrastructure and improving the health of the local population, with more than 60 percent of Saudi citizens obese or overweight.
Human rights activists disagree and say it is a matter of “sports laundry, ” the use of sporting events as a means of deflecting attention from things like repressive policies in the country.
Opinions suggest that Saudi Arabia ’ s sports strategy is driven by internal and external political considerations.
Saudis are obsessed with football.
About two-thirds of Saudi citizens are under the age of 35, and football is the country ’ s favorite sport.
“So I think he [Mohammed bin Salman] realized that you can ’ t really build a sports sector without football, ” Dorsey says.
“He has to create jobs, economic sustainability and sport is part of that.
There are also non-economic factors. ”
The authors of a 2022 paper, “International Sports Events and Repression in Authoritarian Regimes, ” published in the American Political Science Review, explained that“ to reduce the risks of challenges.
“Most autocrats rely on a combination of repression, legitimacy and polarization. ”
Adam Scharff, one of the study ’ s authors and an assistant professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen, told DW: “So they use football for legitimate purposes and, to some extent, for polarizing purposes. ”
A mural in Syria depicting the late goalkeeper Abdul Basit al-Sarout.
The former Syrian national team player, Abdelbaset al-Sarout, became one of the “heroes ” of that country ’ s revolution.
The presence of the best footballers in the world in the domestic league impresses citizens and shows that the country can act equally on the world stage, Scharff added: “Of course, there is also repression.
All of this is combined in a strategic way. ”
It ’ s something like “bread and circus, ” as Dorsey and Sharpf agreed, referring to the Roman adage that when citizens enjoy entertainment and get good food, they won ’ t care about politics.
Simon Chadwick, a professor at Skema Business School in France who specializes in the links between sport and politics, told The Athletic, a sports publication, in June: “Basically, what the government is doing now is saying, ‘ Well, if you want Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, we ’ ll give them to you. ’
Chadwick added: “But the other side of that is that they don ’ t want to be interrogated.
So far this year, there have been more arrests of people in Saudi Arabia for posting negative comments about the government than ever before.
The contract is that you can get anything you want, but don ’ t ask us. ”
Sport and Authoritarian Regimes
After looking in detail at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, Scharpf and other researchers concluded that authoritarian regimes are well aware of the dual nature of large sporting events and are deliberately devising strategies to deal with them.
These may include increased violence before and after the event and increased surveillance.
“So, in many ways, a sporting event doesn ’ t make things better for people living in the country, it makes them worse. ”
In fact, for all the optimism that sport is a catalyst for positive social change, football is just a tool, Dorsey said.
Either they bring about change or they don ’ t because it depends on the circumstances and how political leaders choose to use them.
“In 2011, when football fans played a key role in Egypt, there were many pre-existing conditions.
"There was widespread discontent and the stadium was one of the few places where this discontent could be expressed and where people had a sense of strength and numbers.
Are these conditions theoretically possible in Saudi Arabia?
Oh, absolutely.
Is there any indication that this is a realistic scenario anytime soon?
Certainly not. "
Saudi women were allowed to drive in 2018, but many protesters who demanded this right remained in prison.
Of course, football may still play a positive role on a personal or societal level.
However, when it comes to politics at the national level, neither Sharpf nor Dorsey believe that football is about to have any impact in Saudi Arabia.
In fact, as Sharpef pointed out, he doesn ’ t know of any strong scientific studies anywhere showing that sport helps bring about political change at the top.
A brief Google search provides another, albeit largely unscientific, answer to whether Saudi Arabia ’ s soccer strategy has been successful internationally.
During a dated search, about 10 English-language news headlines emerged about Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a retired Saudi teacher who was recently sentenced to death for publishing political opinions on X (formerly known as Twitter).
This came a week after Human Rights Watch issued a statement on his case.
In the same timeframe, there were more than 1,000 news headlines showing the name of British footballer Jordan Henderson, one of the newest members of the Saudi league.
Kathryn Scheer / Editor: Rob Modge
Related Topics

Overall, the story of Brittney Griner is a powerful reminder of the complex and often fraught relationship between sports, politics, and international relations, and the need for greater awareness and understanding of these issues.

Note: The references in brackets at the end of each sentence are the doc_id of the source document.