“It’s finally happening” US Government agrees to exchange Russian arms dealer in order to secure Brittney Griner’s release
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Brittney Griner, US Legislative branch
According to the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the Biden administration has made a deal with Russia to free WNBA star Brittney Griner and another imprisoned American, former US Marine Paul Whelan. After months of internal discussion, the Biden administration has proposed to swap Viktor Bout for the two American hostages who are being detained by Russia. Bout is a convicted Russian arms trafficker who is now serving a 25-year US prison sentence. The secretary said that the United States has already proposed a plan to do that and is looking forward to a development in their cases.
Brittney Griner and the U.S. State Department have been cautious in all of their statements on her detention in Russia on drug-related charges for months. After being discussed since early this year, the idea to exchange Bout for Whelan and Griner was approved by President Joe Biden. Since the Department of Justice normally opposes prisoner exchanges, Biden’s backing for the trade overcomes its resistance.
Brittney Griner finally returning home!
In court this month, Brittney Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since the spring, admitted that she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage when she arrived in Moscow in February to play basketball there. However, she maintains that she had no bad intentions and packed the cartridges unintentionally. At her trial on Wednesday, Griner claimed she had no idea how the cannabis oil got into her luggage but added that she had a prescription for it from a doctor and had packed quickly. If found guilty of drug transport, she may spend up to 10 years in jail.
The 31-year-old is regarded as one of the finest defensive players in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and was chosen in 2021 as one of the top 25 players in league history. The centre player, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, has been a member of the Phoenix Mercury since 2013. With the US women’s national basketball team, she has won two Olympic gold medals as well as a WNBA Championship since she started her professional career in 2013. She has won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice and been selected to seven All-Star games.
It is unclear if the planned bargain, which was made weeks ago, will be sufficient for Russia to free the Americans; Blinken did not provide any details. But the government is under increasing pressure to return Griner and Whelan, and their public acceptance of the offer comes at a time when the US has generally avoided Russia. Additionally, Blinken stated that he will talk with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, shortly and that he would demand the release of Griner and Whelan.
Some officials quietly admitted that securing their release would also provide the White House with a much-needed political victory before the midterm elections in November. As the White House comes under increasing public pressure from the families of Americans wrongfully held abroad, there is also a sense of urgency to get the two prisoners home. The probability that Brittney Griner may get the whole 10-year sentence has been anticipated by her family and supporters. The true deadline, however, has always been when the two nations can come to an agreement that will send her home.
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Irvin Philip
(701 Articles Published)