Brittney Griner released from Russian custody

Brittney Griner, a WNBA star from Houston, was freed from Russian imprisonment as part of a prisoner swap.

Photo: Lorie Shaull / Wikimedia Commons

Houston native Brittney Griner has been released from Russian detention, President Biden stated Thursday.

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"I just got off the phone with Brittney Griner. She's okay. She's in the air. "She's on her way home," Biden wrote in a tweet to tell people about the release.

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Biden claimed in a news conference on Thursday morning that he has spoken with Griner on the phone and that she is "in good spirits."

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She's happy to be going home, but "she's wasted months of her life, undergone needless anguish," he said.

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With the characteristic grit and incredible dignity that has become her trademark, she endured mistreatment and a show trial in Russia.

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In February, airport security at a Moscow airport found vape canisters and cannabis oil in Griner's luggage, leading to her detention.

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She was found guilty of transporting illegal substances into Russia and received a sentence of nine years in jail for her crime.

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White House termed the trial a "sham." Griner pleaded guilty and called the event a "honest mistake".

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Her freedom was secured in a trade with the release of Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, or "the Merchant of Death."

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The prisoner swap does not include retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian detention for four years on spurious espionage charges.

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