An official said that the exchange for Bout for Griner had been violated and that the United States had no option but to bring home a criminal citizen
“She’s safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home after being held in Russia under horrible conditions for months.
Griner’s detention had been a top priority for Biden and his administration — and he was under increasing pressure to secure her release. In July, she sent him a handwritten letter, saying “I’m terrified I might be here forever.” Biden said last month that he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more willing to discuss a prisoner exchange after the U.S. midterm elections were over.
The foreign ministry said in the statement that they had agreed with the American side on the exchange of Bout for Griner. The Russian citizen has returned to his homeland.
The U.S. government has long resisted prisoner swaps out of concern that it could encourage the imprisonment of more Americans abroad. The exchange for Bout should not be interpreted as a new normal practice, but that there are times where there are no alternatives, a Biden official said.
The official said the administration felt a moral obligation and policy obligation to bring those people who are being held hostage home.
“We start by asking ourselves this question: How is it acceptable for someone like Brittney Griner to be put through sham proceedings and forced to spend [time] … in a Russian penal colony, in horrific circumstances that she did not deserve? The official said that it’s unacceptable.
The US government had sought a prisoner swap with Russia involving the two men. The White House made a substantial offer over the summer in exchange for two people.
An official said on the conference call that this was not a situation where Americans could choose which to bring home. It was a choice whether to bring home one particular American or not.
According to Cherelle, she was overwhelmed by emotion and expressed gratitude to Biden, Vice President Harris and other people involved in securing her wife’s release. She thanked the WNBA, Griner’s agent and others.
As she boarded the plane, Griner was greeted by Phoenix Mercury GM Jim Pitman, team president Vince Kozar and teammate Diana Taurasi. They made a surprise appearance to welcome her home.
After losing her appeal and being sentenced to nine years in prison, Griner was moved to a penal colony in the Mordovia republic.
Last February, Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, traveled to Moscow to play offseason in a Russian basketball league. Customs officials found marijuana oil in her luggage after she was arrested on drug charges. The oil was prescribed to address chronic pain issues, and any violation of Russian law was by no means intentional.
He had been arrested in Russia on espionage charges and is currently imprisoned in a Russian penal colony. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He, like Griner, had been declared wrongfully detained by US officials.
The Cost of Chaos: The Case of a Former Marine Landed in the United States for his Interaction with the Russian Agent Viktor Bout
Peter Bergen is a CNN national security analyst, a New America vice president and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Bergen is the author of “The Cost of Chaos: The Trump Administration and the World.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. There is more opinion on CNN.
After almost 10 months of tense negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, Griner landed on American soil on Dec. 8 as part of a prisoner swap. The US gave over the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner’s release.
Terrorist organizations used to be the main perpetrators of wrongful internment, formerly a practice. The study said that it has been used as a tool by governments.
The case of Trevor Reed, a former US Marine, who was held by the Russians on espionage charges, has never been forgiven by anyone. In April, Reed was exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted Russian drug smuggler who had been serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US since 2011. Yaroshenko denied the accusations.
Mark Frerichs was held for more than two years in Afghanistan by the Taliban, and now is part of the Afghan government. A man named Haji Bashir Noorzai was freed in exchange for a pardon for 17 years in prison for drug dealing. The year before his arrest, the Bush administration stated that Noorzai was one of their most-wanted drug dealers. The release of Noorzai was long sought by the Taliban, who regard him as a key ally.
Take the case of seven Americans who spent many years in Venezuela and were exchanged for a couple ofVenezuelans jailed in the US for conspiring to smuggle cocaine. The first lady of Venezuela is related to the convicted drug dealers.
The Basketball Star Brittney Griner Leaving the US-Russian Prisoner Exchange: An Instability in Los Angeles after she Was Detained
What will be the price of releasing Whelan? Surely it won’t be nothing. And, again, the Biden administration will have to make a tough call about what price it is willing to pay.
Brittney Griner departed a medical military facility in Texas on Friday and headed home to Arizona, vowing in an Instgram post to play in the WNBA this season as she took another step in her reintegration into American life after her detention in Russia.
The basketball star – who was released Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia for notorious convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout – arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for a routine evaluation early Friday, and officials have not specified how long she will be there.
“I’m understanding that it’s going to be a few more days before she gets out,” Bill Richardson, a former New Mexico governor, told CNN on Sunday. Richardson and his center are able to work on behalf of families of hostages. He traveled to Russia in the past to talk about the release of Paul Whelan, who is still in custody.
Griner’s release through the prisoner exchange took months to negotiate and marked an end to months in confinement after the basketball star was arrested on drug charges at a Russian airport in February and then sentenced to nine years in prison.
Her family and friends jokingly referred to her as a Russian fade after she got a haircut. Colas said that her long dreadlocks were cut while in captivity as she battled the flu because of her wet hair.
The 6-foot-9 Olympics gold medalist had too large hands for her to handle sewing uniforms while she was at the colony, so she had to carry the fabric all day.
Anomalous experience in the US embassy to the United Nations: A personal connection with Brittney and her family, says V.D. Patel
“We are now focused on ensuring that Brittney and her family’s well-being are prioritized and that all available assistance can be offered to them through an appropriate manner,” US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a news briefing Friday.
According to Richardson, who served as a US ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration, the prisoners had a terrible experience in the Russian prisons.
After he boarded the plane he told her that he was there to take her home, on behalf of the president and secretary of state.
“When she finally got on to the US plane, I said, ‘Brittney, you must have been through a lot over the last 10 months. You are at your seat. Please feel free to decompress. We’ll give you your space,’” Carstens recalled.
“And she said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian, I want to talk. First of all, who are these guys? She went to every member of that crew, shook their hands and asked their names after moving past me, and made a personal connection with them. Carstens said that it was really amazing.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/us/brittney-griner-us-arrival-monday/index.html
Breakney Griner Arrival Monday: A Memorino of a 21-year-old Freshman from a Cuban Prisoner Exchange
Griner’s friend, WNBA player Angel McCoughtry, said she knows Griner will need time and space, but believes she’ll eventually return to the basketball court.
She is going to be given time and space to get evaluated, mentally and physically, but we want to see her.
When it comes to reintegrating into society after a long time in captivity, there is much to be said for time and effort. Toledo was released as part of a prisoner exchange, after he was arrested in Venezuela last year while on a business trip with executives from Citgo Corporation.
After five years in captivity, Toledo found that he had trouble sleeping and other health issues, as well as becoming more anxious with minor tasks like driving.
Toledo said he was part of a program in San Antonio that involved six days with a group of psychologists. The program was important to his return to society and he hopes other people can take advantage of it.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/us/brittney-griner-us-arrival-monday/index.html
Paul Biden and the War of the World: Bringing Paul and Paul to the Front of the Nation,” President Joe Biden wrote in an e-mail
“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” President Joe Biden said last week. “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. It has been difficult to get Paul’srelease, but we are not giving up. We will never give up.”
“It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she wrote in her post. It was the love from so many of you that kept me going, and that is what I kept my faith in. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
Griner, 32, said she was “grateful to each person who advocated for me” and thanked the staff at the Texas military facility she briefly called home. She also remembered another foreign prisoner in Russia whose release could not be secured in the prisoner swap that secured her freedom.
“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” she said. I will do whatever I can to help you. Everyone who helped bring me home should go forward with their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”
Griner was headed back to Arizona, though her representatives would not confirm exactly where, citing security concerns. CNN has previously reported that a couple had made plans to move to another country after she returned to the US.
Britney-griner-departs medical facility: “It’s all right, but I don’t always know” — Her story of escaping from the Mercury center during the 2018 Ukrainian-Russian war
Her detention, after Russian officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, became an international cause during a delicate time in relations between Washington and Moscow. US officials thought it was a mistake to hold it.
During the war in Ukraine, the Mercury center became a pawn in Russia and returned to the US on December 9.
The US and Russia had a difficult relationship because of their engagement in the war in Ukraine. While sanctions were enacted by the US in response to the conflict, diplomats remained open lines of communication with Moscow.
Whelan is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen who is imprisoned in a Russian penal colony after he was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
“She is thinking about his family and talked about her intention to call them as soon as she gets home,” Colas told CNN. She is dedicated to telling the story and making sure that the population of Americans who have been wrongly imprisoned know their names.
During his stay at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, the basketball player had a routine evaluation. She stayed with her wife in a residential facility on the base. A Christmas tree decorated their living space.
“I appreciate the time and care to make sure I was okay and equipped with the tools for this new journey,” she wrote on Instagram, referring to staff at the San Antonio base.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/us/brittney-griner-departs-medical-military-facility/index.html
Biden and the Griner Family: A Case Study in the Recovery of a Dictator from a Russian Penitentiary
Republicans criticized the Biden administration for freeing a dangerous prisoner back to Russia in order to not get the release of Whelan.
Russian officials made it clear throughout the past several weeks and months that releasing Bout was the only way they could free Griner from her jail.
Reed has taken part in the post-isolation program of the Department of Defense, according to Colas. The program focuses on helping formerly captive people regain a sense of control over their lives after lengthy detentions.
In one of her first public appearances since being release from Russian prison, WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner spoke at the 54th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, thanking people for their support and calling for the return of Americans still detained abroad.
Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, were welcomed onto the stage by award ceremony host and actress Queen Latifah, who applauded the couple for their resilience.
“As we gather here tonight in the spirit of overcoming adversity, I want to take this moment to recognize someone who has done just that,” Queen Latifah said.
While nearly two thirds of people who are wrongfully detained are eventually released, rescued or escape, the report found that nearly a third are still apprehended and nearly half of those currently detained have been held for more than four years.
At Saturday’s awards ceremony, Biden recalled a previous letter from girrer, which was similar in tone to the one she wrote in July while in Russian prison.