Joe Biden says Brittney Griner is ‘on her way home’ after release from ‘hell’ of Russian prison
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WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained for months in Russia over drug charges, was released Thursday in a prisoner swap for a notorious international arms dealer, according to a US official, CBS News reported.
In the one-for-one swap, the US had reportedly been negotiating with Moscow for weeks to send arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the 32-year-old American basketball player.
“She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” said US President Joe Biden in a tweet confirming her release, adding later during an address that she was in “good spirits”.
“After months of being unjustly held in Russia she will soon be in the arms of her loved ones,” said the president from the White House.
Meanwhile, jailed US Marine Paul Whelan says he is “greatly disappointed” not to have been included in the prisoner exchange, telling CNN in a new interview that while he welcomed Ms Griner’s release, he had been “led to believe things were moving in the right direction” with efforts to secure his own release.
“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,” he told CNN.
WNBA celebrates Brittney Griner’s return home
The Women’s National Basketball Association, the league in which Brittney Griner has played as a professional basketball player with since the 2013 draft, celebrated the news that the 32-year-old centre would be coming home after a nine-month detention in Russia.
“After 294 days of tireless work… Our friend, sister, loved one, Brittney Griner is FREE. We love you BG,” tweeted the American basketball league on Thursday.
How Brittney Griner became a pawn in the US-Russia geopolitical war
On 17 February, Brittney Griner, an Olympic gold medallist and WNBA star, was detained in Russia after she was stopped when she flew into Sheremetyevo airport and was found to be in possession of cannabis oil, one week before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
She was sentenced to nine years in prison over charges that the US maintained were wrong from the start.
On Thursday, Ms Griner was exchanged for an international arms dealer in a prisoner swap between Russia and the US.
Here, my colleague Andrew Buncombe traces how the Texas-born basketball player and international star became a political pawn in the US-Russia geopolitical war.
The Texas-born basketball player is an international star – and US authorities believe she is being wrongfully detained, writes Andrew Buncombe
GOP senators and representatives take Biden to task for not also securing Paul Whelan’s release
Several GOP senators and members of congress seemed to hold President Joe Biden personally responsible for not securing detained American Paul Whelan’s release in addition to Brittney Griner’s on Thursday, with many airing their grievances at the US president online in the immediate aftermath of the bombshell news.
“While we appreciate and celebrate the release of Brittney Griner from a Russian penal colony – held on trumped up charges and facing an excessive sentence - we must not lose focus on the fact that Paul Whelan remains unjustly held in Russia,” tweeted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, while highlighting how Mr Whelan is a former marine who has been “unjustly accused of spying for the United States.”
“It is a bitter pill to swallow that Mr. Whelan remains in custody while we release the “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout back to Russia.”
Those concerns were similarly taken up by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who said that while he was “glad” that Ms Griner had been released, he wanted to refocus attention on Mr Whelan.
“He’s still held by Putin in Russia. For Biden to give Putin a dangerous arms dealer - someone known as the “Merchant of Death” - is weak & disgusting. Doing so while leaving Paul behind is unforgivable,” he tweeted.
Sen John Cornyn of Texas offered a more direct rebuke of Mr Biden, saying pointedly that he was “disappointed” in the Biden administration for failing to secure “additional U.S. citizens in the exchange,” after saying how “glad” he was to learn that Ms Griner, a Texas-native, would be coming home.
Explainer: Why is US Marine Paul Whelan detained in Russia?
US President Joe Biden confirmed while delivering remarks about the release of Brittney Griner that he and his administration would “never give up” trying to free other Americans who have been wrongfully detained by Russia, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian custody since he was arrested just after Christmas in 2018 on what American officials have described as bogus spying charges.
Mr Whelan, 52, was initially included in swap proposals by the US but was not part of the agreement reached this week, forcing Mr Biden to deny prioritising Ms Griner’s return over his, telling reporters that there “was not a choice of which American to bring home”.
Mr Whelan reacted to the news in a CNN interview from a Russian jail cell, saying he is “greatly disappointed” to have been left out of the swap.
He said that while welcomed Ms Griner’s release from Russian custody, he had been “led to believe things were moving in the right direction” with efforts to secure his release.
“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,” he said, calling himself a victim of “political extortion”.
My colleague Joe Sommerlad explains here why Mr Whelan, detained in a remote Russian penal colony, was detained.
Canada-born businessman convicted on dubious espionage charges by Moscow court following 2018 arrest and sentenced to 16 years in prison
Watch: President Joe Biden’s full remarks on Brittney Griner’s release
NFL player Micah Parsons issues apology for tweeting ‘out of emotion’ after criticizing Biden over Paul Whelan
Micah Parsons, an NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, issued a swift apology on Twitter after he “tweeted out of emotion” for his family when he wrote a post earlier on Thursday about his dismay that former marine and detained American Paul Whelan was not included with the prisoner exchange that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner return home for an international arms dealer.
“Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah,” tweeted the outside linebacker, a comment that apparently led to immediate pushback as he followed up that message with another clarifying note shortly after.
Less than two hours after firing off those initial tweets, Mr Parsons issued a more explicit apology, writing: “Just spoke to some people that I respect and trust. I should have been more educated on the topic and not tweeted out of emotion for my family and other who have served. For that I apologize.”
He added that he was “extremely happy” that Ms Griner was home with her family. “I am not too prideful to admit when I’ve made a mistake.”
Republican Adam Kinzinger shames Biden for not securing Paul Whelan’s release
Rep Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans that sit on the January 6 House select committee and who has accused Donald Trump of sowing the seeds for the Capitol attack by spreading lies about the results of the 2020 election, called out US President Joe Biden for not securing detained American Paul Whelan’s release alongside Brittney Griner’s.
“What about retired marine who has been unjustly detained for years, Paul Whelan? Surely an arms dealer is worth two innocent people?” tweeted the congressman from Illinois.
For his part, Mr Biden acknowledged during his remarks from the White House on Thursday that “for totally illegitimate reasons Russia has treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s”.
Saudi’s MBS and UAE led mediation in Brittney Griner’s prisoner swap, middle eastern nations claim
Saudi Arabia’ controversial crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the president of the UAE, have claimed they led the mediation efforts that led to the release of basketball star Brittney Griner.
“The success of the mediation efforts was a reflection of the mutual and solid friendship between their two countries and the United States of America and the Russian Federation,” a joint UAE-Saudi statement said on Thursday.
It “highlighted the important role played by the leaderships of the two brotherly countries in promoting dialogue between all parties”.
My colleague Andrew Buncombe has more in this developing story.
Saudi Arabia’ controversial crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the president of the UAE, have claimed they led the mediation efforts that led to the release of basketball star Brittney Griner.
Paul Whelan tells CNN he’s ‘disappointed’ the Biden administration didn’t do more to secure his release
In an exclusive interview with CNN, detained American Paul Whelan told the news outlet that he’s “disappointed” by the Biden administration’s efforts to secure his release following the news that fellow American and WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged in a prisoner swap Thursday.
“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” Mr Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the US government has said are baseless, said in a phone call from the penal colony where he’s being held in a remote part of Russia.
“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
While the detained former marine said that he was happy for Ms Griner, he also said that he “was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon.”
Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden said that while Mr Whelan maintained a priority for their government, the Russian officials had “for totally illegitimate reasons ... treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s”.
Mr Whelan acknowledged that the Russian government has always treated his case differently than Ms Griner’s, describing it as being in a different category.
“They’ve always considered me to be at a higher level than other criminals of my sort and for whatever reason, I’m treated differently than another individual here from a Western country that’s also on a charge of espionage.”
He asked that the Biden administration continue to do everything they can to get him out, “regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point.”
“I would say that if a message could go to President Biden, that this is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly,” he said. “My bags are packed. I’m ready to go home. I just need an airplane to come and get me.”
US Marine tells CNN in new interview: ‘I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here’
Sen Bernie Sanders commends Biden and his administration for working ‘tirelessly'
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to congratulate his one-time challenger in the Democratic primary in the 2020 election, commending US President Joe Biden and his entire adminisration for working “tirelessly” to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
“After months of imprisonment, Brittney Griner is free and returning home to her family and loved ones. Thank you to President Biden and everyone who worked tirelessly to make this happen,” tweeted the independent senator.