Brittney Griner is coming house. The WNBA star, 31, has been launched from a Russian penal colony, President Joe Biden confirmed.
“Moments in the past, I spoke to Brittney Griner,” Biden, 80, tweeted on Thursday, December 8, alongside pictures of himself with Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, and Vice President Kamala Harris within the Oval Workplace. “She is protected. She is on a aircraft. She is on her manner house,” he added.
The Biden administration negotiated the athlete’s launch in change for convicted arms seller Viktor Bout.
In a press convention afterward Thursday, the president mentioned that he by no means stopped “pushing” for Griner’s freedom. “This can be a day we’ve work in direction of for a very long time,” Biden informed reporters. “It took intense negotiations and I need to thank all of the hardworking public servants throughout my administration who labored tirelessly to safe her launch.”
Griner’s change passed off within the United Arab Emirates, who the top of state additionally thanked. “These previous few months have been hell for Brittney and Cherelle,” Biden continued. “Individuals all throughout the nation have discovered about Brittney’s story and advocated for her launch and stood together with her all through this horrible ordeal, and I do know that assist meant quite a bit to her household. I’m glad to have the ability to say that Brittney is in good spirits and relieved to lastly be heading house.”
Tune in as I ship an necessary announcement. https://t.co/2BVdSsmIFA
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2022
Biden added: “[Brittney] represents one of the best about America. She wrote to me again in July, she didn’t ask for particular remedy, however requested a easy quote, ‘Please don’t overlook about me and the opposite American detainees. Please do all you may to carry us house.’ We by no means forgot about Brittney.”
He then handed the microphone to Cherelle, who expressed gratitude over her spouse’s launch. “I’m simply standing right here overwhelmed with feelings. An important emotion that I’ve proper now could be honest gratitude for President Biden and his complete administration … At this time my household is complete — however as you all are conscious, there’s so many households that aren’t complete. [Brittney] and I’ll stay dedicated to the work of getting each American house.”
The Texas native’s launch comes after a choose discovered Griner responsible of making an attempt to illegally smuggle narcotics into Russia after authorities discovered vape canisters containing hashish oil in her baggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17. (She was within the nation to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the course of the WNBA low season.)
On August 4, she was sentenced to 9 years of jail time and a fantastic of 1 million rubles (roughly $16,400), in accordance with CNN. On the time, Griner had already been in custody for months.
Information of the athlete’s detention was not made public till a number of weeks later.
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