Brittney Griner swapped for Russian arms dealer; Paul Whelan disappointed

Brittney Griner is coming home. Russian officials released the WNBA star yesterday in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout who was in an American prison for 12 years.

“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” President Joe Biden said from the White House.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist, Griner, 32, was arrested in a Russian airport in February on drug charges for illegally carrying cannabis oil in vape cartridges. Though she insisted the act was accidental, the basketball star was charged with drug smuggling and awarded a nine-year prison sentence.

The swap deal, brokered by UAE and Saudi, did not include former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has already served four years out of his 16-year prison sentence in Russia for espionage. In a CNN interview yesterday, Whelan shared his disappointment that more hadn’t been done to secure his release. Biden assured that he would not give up in trying to secure Whelan’s release.

Critics opine the exchange of an arms dealer for an athlete was a steep price to pay. Viktor Bout, 55, nicknamed “Merchant of Death”, was arrested in 2011 and was serving a 25-year prison sentence.