Brittney Griner freed in prisoner swap with Russian ‘Merchant of Death’ arms dealer
US basketball star Brittney Griner has been freed in a prisoner swap, a US official has said.
She had been imprisoned in Russia after being convicted in August and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Ms Griner was detained in February when customs agents said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
The WNBA star was released in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death”.
President Joe Biden said he has spoken to Ms Griner and that she is “safe” and “on her way home”.
She will be flown to a medical facility in San Antonio, Texas, where she will also meet her wife, Cherelle.
President Biden said Ms Griner had been held under “intolerable circumstances” and been through a “terrible ordeal”.
“I’m glad to be able to say that Britney is in good spirits. She’s relieved to finally be heading home.”
Ms Griner “represents the best of America”, he added.
President Biden stressed that the US has not forgotten about Paul Whelan, a former US marine who remains in Russian custody.
A senior US official said the administration tried everything they could to get Paul Whelan out, but “they are treating him differently. They say he is an espionage case. They said the choice was either one [Griner] or none.”
President Joe Biden said Brittney Griner ‘lost months of her life’ while being ‘wrongfully detained’.
Joe Biden hugs Cherelle Griner after the release of her wife, WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner
He did not address the price the US paid for Ms Griner’s liberty – the release of convicted arms dealer Bout.
Ms Griner’s wife Cherelle said she was “overwhelmed with emotions” after going through “one of the darkest moments of my life”.
“So today my family is whole, but as you all are aware, there’s so many other families who are not whole.”
The Griner-Bout swap took place in Abu Dhabi airport, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland,” it said in a statement.
Pressure on Washington over Griner case
For almost two decades, Bout was one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, selling weaponry to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia, and South America.
Ever since his capture in an elaborate US sting, the Russian state has been keen to bring him back.
Biden’s authorisation to release Bout underscores the escalating pressure that his administration has faced to bring Ms Griner home, particularly after the recent resolution of her criminal case and her subsequent transfer to a penal colony.
Ms Griner’s detention was widely condemned by campaigners including former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who said he was planning to fly to Russia in a bid to free the US basketball player.
The Texan-born athlete revealed her fears that she could be in prison “forever” in a letter to President Biden on US Independence Day.
She wrote: “…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.
“On the 4 July, our family normally honours the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam war veteran.
“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Elon’s dad on the Musk-Trump bust-up
Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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