Brittney Griner

2022 - 12 - 9

Viktor Bout Viktor Bout

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Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Brittney Griner: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms ... (BBC News)

The US and Russia swap jailed basketball star Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

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Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Brittney Griner released in US-Russia prisoner swap for arms dealer ... (ABC News)

Russia has freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the US releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, ...

She is on her way home,” Mr Biden tweeted. She is on a plane. We will never give up.” She is safe. Mr Biden said Griner was in "good spirits" and was relieved to finally be heading home, adding that she would back in the US within 24 hours. Mr Biden hailed the release of Griner in a tweet, saying she was on a plane home to the US.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

'Today feels like a holiday': WNBA, NFL and tennis stars react to ... (The Guardian)

Brittney Griner's release from a Russian jail was welcomed by her fellow athletes on Thursday morning.

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

US basketball star Brittney Griner freed in prisoner swap for Russian ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The WNBA player was freed after the US agreed to release notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death”.

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Image courtesy of "ESPN Australia"

Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange (ESPN Australia)

Russia has freed Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange that is bringing the WNBA star back to the United States after almost 10 months' ...

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Image courtesy of "NEWS.com.au"

Jailed US basketball star freed by Russia (NEWS.com.au)

Jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner has been freed by Russia in a prison swap deal – but there's a major catch. 4 min read. December 9, 2022 - 3:02AM.

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Image courtesy of "NPR"

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been freed from a Russian prison (NPR)

Griner was traded for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap did not include retired Marine Paul Whelan who remains imprisoned in Russia, ...

The White House said it made a "substantial offer" over the summer — widely reported to involve a [suggested trade](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/02/1115113622/jailed-arms-dealer-bout-the-merchant-of-death-may-be-swapped-for-2-americans) of Bout — in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Last month, she was transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia — 300 miles southeast of Moscow — to begin serving out her sentence. He said last month that he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more willing to discuss a prisoner exchange after the U.S. "The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland." The president was under increasing pressure to secure Griner's release. Marine Paul Whelan who remains imprisoned in Russia, on espionage charges that the U.S. "We will never give up." The exchange did not include former U.S. Griner's detention had been a top priority for Biden and his administration. She's on a plane. "She's safe. "

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Image courtesy of "ESPN Australia"

Women's basketball world shares relief as Brittney Griner heads home (ESPN Australia)

Those who have who have worked with Mercury center Brittney Griner throughout her basketball career expressed relief and gratitude that she is headed home ...

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Brittney Griner: brilliant basketball talent to high-profile prisoner (The Guardian)

The USA star is one of the world's best players. Her talent led her to Russia, where she found herself in a diplomatic incident.

Remarks by President Biden on the Release of Brittney Griner | The ... (The White House)

Roosevelt Room 8:38 A.M. ESTTHE PRESIDENT: Well, good morning, folks. And it is a good morning. Moments ago, standing together with her.

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Image courtesy of "SBS"

'Overwhelmed with emotions': US basketball star Brittney Griner ... (SBS)

After months of being detained in Russia, US basketball star Brittney Griner is on her way home after being released in exchange for a Russian arms dealer.

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Image courtesy of "Fox Sports"

'On her way home': Basketball star's 'terrible ordeal' over after ... (Fox Sports)

'On her way home': Basketball star's 'terrible ordeal' over after prisoner swap for 'Merchant of Death'

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Image courtesy of "Women's Agenda"

US basketball star Brittney Griner released from Russian penal colony (Women's Agenda)

On Thursday, US basketball star Brittney Griner got her freedom in a trade for the US's release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

“I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home,” said David. On Thursday, the US government freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a one-to-one person trade for Griner. We will never give up.”

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Image courtesy of "bne IntelliNews"

US basketball star Brittney Griner release from Russian jail in ... (bne IntelliNews)

The US basketball star Brittney Griner was released from Russian jail on December 8 in a prisoner swap for notorious arms dealer Victor Bout, known ...

Bout was detained in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok in 2008 in a US sting operation where he thought he was meeting with Colombian guerrillas and arrested under a warrant issued by a local court at the behest of the US. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said the same day that Russia will continue its work to release all Russians who were jailed by the US. He had been one of the world's most notorious arms dealers, selling arms to Afghanistan, Asia and Latin America. “Viktor Bout's Afghanistan dealings were always controversial,” Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies at Oxford University, said in a tweet. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and star of the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on February 17 after spending a few months playing professional basketball in the Russian regions. Bout was born in Tajik capital of Dushanbe in Soviet times. "The choice before us was one or none," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News. [Bout arrived in Moscow to a media circus](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jfGECP3gMCs-5bbi-8liBxVZZ9ZANdZT/view?usp=share_link) where he was met by his mother and wife. She was sentenced on August 4 to nine years in a penal colony. "The swap of Viktor Bout for US basketball player Brittney Griner can truly be described as a New Year gift. The elaborate swap involved two private planes bringing the pair to Abu Dhabi airport from Moscow and Washington, and then flying them home. The two prisoners were exchanged in Abu Dhabi airport before flying home and both received full pardons.

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Image courtesy of "bne IntelliNews"

US basketball star Brittney Griner release from Russian jail in ... (bne IntelliNews)

The US basketball star Brittney Griner was released from Russian jail on December 8 in a prisoner swap for notorious arms dealer Victor Bout, known ...

Bout was detained in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok in 2008 in a US sting operation where he thought he was meeting with Colombian guerrillas and arrested under a warrant issued by a local court at the behest of the US. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said the same day that Russia will continue its work to release all Russians who were jailed by the US. He had been one of the world's most notorious arms dealers, selling arms to Afghanistan, Asia and Latin America. “Viktor Bout's Afghanistan dealings were always controversial,” Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies at Oxford University, said in a tweet. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and star of the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on February 17 after spending a few months playing professional basketball in the Russian regions. Bout was born in Tajik capital of Dushanbe in Soviet times. "The choice before us was one or none," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News. [Bout arrived in Moscow to a media circus](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jfGECP3gMCs-5bbi-8liBxVZZ9ZANdZT/view?usp=share_link) where he was met by his mother and wife. She was sentenced on August 4 to nine years in a penal colony. "The swap of Viktor Bout for US basketball player Brittney Griner can truly be described as a New Year gift. The elaborate swap involved two private planes bringing the pair to Abu Dhabi airport from Moscow and Washington, and then flying them home. The two prisoners were exchanged in Abu Dhabi airport before flying home and both received full pardons.

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Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Brittney Griner lands in US after prisoner swap with Russia (BBC News)

Griner was jailed for carrying cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February, and was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on Thursday. The pair were ...

In the video, apparently provided by Russian security services, Bout was warmly greeted by two Russian officials as Griner, who is 6ft 9in (206cm), looks on. Pictures showed him hugging his mother and wife at the airport tarmac. During her trial in Russia, she said the cannabis oil found in her bag had been an "honest mistake". She is one of the best-known sportswomen in America. Footage on Russian state media showed them crossing on the tarmac with their respective teams. He has been held in an American prison for 12 years.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Brittney Griner arrives in US after prisoner exchange with Russia (The Guardian)

Basketball star lands at Texas airbase after being swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

In releasing Bout, the US freed a former Soviet army lieutenant colonel whom the Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. Before her conviction, the US state department declared her to be wrongfully detained, a charge that Russia has sharply rejected. Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Baylor University All-American and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star.

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Image courtesy of "9News"

Brittney Griner back home in US after Russian prisoner swap (9News)

American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to the United States after being freed in a high-profile ...

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Brittney Griner back on US soil after Russian prisoner swap for ... (ABC News)

Brittney Griner returns home, nearly 10 months after the basketball star's detention in Russia made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad.

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Image courtesy of "SBS"

US basketball star Brittney Griner lands in Texas after Russia ... (SBS)

American basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the US state of Texas, after months of being detained in Russia.

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Image courtesy of "ESPN"

Brittney Griner returns to U.S. after release from Russia (ESPN)

Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday, stepping off a plane in Texas after being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange following ...

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Image courtesy of "NPR"

Brittney Griner is back home in the U.S. after a Russian prisoner swap (NPR)

American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday after being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange following nearly ...

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Image courtesy of "ESPN Australia"

Former detainees describe challenges WNBA star Brittney Griner ... (ESPN Australia)

Experts caution that after the euphoria of being reunited with loved ones, Brittney Griner may find herself emotionally and psychologically overwhelmed.

"You're going to have people say horrible things to you and you have to be ready for it." And then I was able to get it together." "It's not like you get to pop back to where you were; the world's changed, you've changed," she says. "I grew in faith and many great things have come from it." She was prepared to be in Russia for the long haul. In many of these cases the families have as much going on as the hostage and you have no idea." Griner's ability to adjust might depend on whether she was able to feel a sense of agency while she was locked up. "Whether you're being illegally detained by a government actor or being held hostage by a group of gangsters, the similarities are that you're afraid, you have no autonomy," she says. "It's not that they don't want to see people." "A minute or two later, I was thinking about everything that had happened to me in the past nine weeks and I said to my parents, 'I have a story for you.' My mom said, 'We have a story for you, too,'" he says. government officials will ask to debrief Griner at some point, but that it's up to her whether she wants to. Griner, who recently recovered from the flu, will be occupied for a day or two at Brooke Army Medical Center by a battery of tests, along with constant attention to her mental health.

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Image courtesy of "The New Yorker"

Brittney Griner's Swap for the “Merchant of Death” Is Just the Latest ... (The New Yorker)

The average number of Americans detained abroad has risen by nearly six hundred per cent during the past decade.

Since the seventies, the U.S. In 2016, the Administration brokered the release of five Americans held in Tehran, including my former research assistant, as the nuclear deal was implemented. “It’s a constant in American history,” Douglas Brinkley, a Presidential historian at Rice University and the author of “ [pay](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/illusion-hostage-policy) the Dey of Algiers almost a million dollars, then about a sixth of the U.S. engages in prisoner exchanges, it increases the risk that even more Americans will be taken hostage, Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN. He later acknowledged that this was a “mistake.” As soon as some were freed, others were seized in Beirut and held long after he left office. The families of captives say the effort lacks teeth. But he was an almost mythical figure in the arms underworld, going back to the nineteen-nineties, and was the model for the Nicolas Cage character in the 2005 film “Lord of War.” Last year, the U.S. Nearly half of the U.S. He was extradited to the U.S., where he was sentenced to twenty-five years for intending to sell millions of dollars of weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, and for conspiring to kill Americans. Brittney Griner, her trademark dreadlocks conspicuously shorn, towered above the Russians who escorted her across the executive airport in Abu Dhabi for a prisoner swap.

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