U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittney Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner??
📷: U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittney Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, after speaking on the phone with WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner after her release by Russia, in White House handout photos taken in the Oval Office, in Washington, December 8, 2022.
👉 The U.S. and Russia carried out a high-stakes prisoner swap on Thursday, with Moscow freeing professional basketball star Brittney Griner and Washington handing over notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Russia said the swap was carried out in the United Arab Emirates and later U.S. President Joe Biden, who had long pressed the Russian government to free Griner, officially announced her release at the White House.
“She represents the best of America,” Biden said, noting that Griner would be back in the United States within 24 hours.
“I spoke with Brittney Griner,” Biden said. “She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home. After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances. Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along.”
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, thanked Biden and an array of U.S. officials for their efforts in freeing her spouse after nine months of imprisonment. She vowed that she and Brittney Griner would continue their support for the release of Paul Whelan, another U.S. prisoner held in Russia who was not included in Thursday’s deal.
Griner, 32, was detained at a Moscow airport in February when she arrived in Russia with vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The Women’s National Basketball Association star had gone to Russia to play for a Russian team during her off-season in the U.S. but instead was convicted of the drug charge after a brief trial, sentenced to nine years of imprisonment, and recently sent to a Russian penal colony.
Source:
(Reuters/VOA) voanews.com
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