US basketball star Brittney Griner smiled when she was told she would be released in a prisoner swap with Russia’s ‘Merchant of Death’.
The moment was revealed in a video shown by Russian state television on Thursday hours after it was announced that Griner would be traded for Viktor Bout, one of the world’s largest illicit arms dealers.
In begins with a clip of Griner at the facility where she was being held, then shows her signing some papers. The next clip shows the WNBA player holding bags and loading them into a van, which she rides to get to an airplane.
Inside the plane, Griner sits with her hands folded as someone asks about her mood.
‘Happy,’ she replies.
‘Are you ready for a flight?’ the person who is outside the frame asks.
‘Yes,’ says Griner, smiling.
The person then asks, ‘Do you know where you’re heading to?’
‘No,’ says Griner.
She is then told, ‘You’re flying back home’ to the US.
The video shown by Russia 24 ends with footage of Griner and Bout exchanged on tarmac in Abu Dhabi. Bout is seen emerging with a smile and walks to a jet awaiting him.
Griner was detained in since February 17 and set to serve a nine-year sentence in a penal colony after being convicted of possessing two cartridges of cannabis oil while entering Russia.
President Joe Biden on Thursday morning shared an picture of himself with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, in the Oval Office.
‘Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane,’ tweeted Biden. ‘She is on her way home.’
While many celebrated Griner’s release, critics say the Biden administration surrendered in the deal and that freeing Bout is a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he wages a war against Ukraine.
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