The release of WNBA star Britney Griner after being detained in Russia for 10 months is cause for celebration.
She could have spent years in a Russian penal colony, but this was a sentence far beyond the suspicion she had committed and allowed her to be reunited with her friends and family.
President Joe Biden deserves credit for his dedication to getting them home. That doesn't mean the deal to secure her freedom was a good one. rice field.
She was arrested in February for possessing a small amount of cannabis oil at a Moscow airport. Although she admitted her guilt and apologized publicly, she was sentenced to nine years in prison, one of Russia's notorious camps her was transferred to There, prisoners typically face brutal living conditions and forced labor.
The release of Griner is welcome, but there are many concerns about the process.
In exchange for Griner, the United States agreed to pardon convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in Illinois.
Bout was responsible for supplying rogues and terrorists around the world with weapons, from the Taliban to Colombia's left-wing FARC rebels to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
(for his exploits he has earned the nickname "The Merchant of Death"). increase. A Kremlin spokesman called Bout's release from US custody a "real Christmas present".
Given the public interest in Mr. Griner's case, Mr. Biden had great motivation to make a deal.But the bottom line is that the United States has suffered the worst.
His 2011 conviction of Bout was the result of years of painstaking efforts by U.S. intelligence, diplomatic and law enforcement agencies. Exchanging such dangerous criminals for athletes with no identifiable information value to Russia would inevitably be an affront to the U.S. judicial system.
The Biden administration also dropped claims that the Kremlin would force former US Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, to resign. to enhance his flag image in his home.
It's fair to question governmental priorities. By one estimate, 60 US citizens are currently being held hostage or illegally detained abroad.
(The government does not release official numbers.) It is difficult to escape the conclusion that Above all, there is urgency.
Whelan's family released a very generous statement congratulating Griner on his release, but noted that it was "a disaster for Paul". Other family members may feel the same way.
A final concern is the precedent this case is setting. In its near-desperate willingness to make a deal, the Biden administration has risked encouraging other administrations to arrest prominent Western citizens and use them as leverage.
Going forward, Biden said to America's adversaries, and the people, that America will continue its efforts to free all its citizens unjustly detained abroad, but at the expense of national security. I must make it clear that I do not intend to do so.
As democracies around the world have learned, negotiating prisoner exchanges is a dirty business. America should wholeheartedly welcome the return of Britney Griner. But we'll have to take a closer look at the process that brought her to her home
Brittney Griner lands in US after prisoner swap with Russia
Britney Griner Lands in US After Prisoner Exchange with Russia Ten months after leaving the US to play basketball in Russia, WNBA star Britney Griner has landed in her home state of Texas. Griner, who was jailed in February for transporting cannabis oil at a Moscow airport, was traded Thursday for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. She was flown to San Antonio, where she is being treated. The White House's John Kirby told MSNBC on Friday morning that Griner was "fine" and "healthy." President Joe Biden was the first to announce that Griner will return home on Thursday. His wife, Sherrel Griner, who attended Mr. Biden's announcement at the White House, was scheduled to meet her in San Antonio. Britney has endured unimaginable circumstances and is thrilled to be returning home to family and friends," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement regarding her return. Griner was arrested in February, days before Russia invaded Ukraine. She is one of America's most famous athletes. During her season in US basketball, the two-time Olympic gold medalist was her center star for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. Her reason for going to Moscow was to play in Russia during the US off-season. During her trial in Russia, she said the cannabis oil found in her own bag was an "honest mistake." The Biden administration proposed a prisoner exchange in July. This was because Moscow had long sought the release of convicted arms dealer Bout, known as the Merchant of Death. He has been in an American prison for 12 years. Footage from Russian state media showed them crossing the asphalt with their respective teamsIn a video believed to have been provided by Russian security services, Bout is warmly welcomed by two Russian officers and watched by a 206 cm tall Griner. Parts of the exchange were then cut before it was shown that both parties were going their separate ways. Russian live television broadcast Bout's arrival in Moscow. The photo showed him hugging his mother and wife on the airport tarmac. "Done. That's the point," he told reporters at the airport. "They just woke me up in the middle of the night and said, 'Pack your things,'" he added.
- How Britney Griner's prisoner exchange went Houston will be greeted with a light show, Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
- In a tweet, US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens welcomed Griner back home. "I'm so happy to have Britney back on American soil," he said.
- Media Caption, Video: How Did Britney Greiner Get Here? How Long She Stayed in San Antonio Before Moving East to Houston About 200 Miles It is unknown whether
An unnamed US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Griner will be treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
It is believed that they will participate in a Department of Defense program called Pisa (Post Isolation Support Activities), said to be designed to help them acclimate.
On Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the government would discuss what is needed with Griner.
"She can ask for help from the United States, and we will give her all of that," he told MSNBC. Several Republicans have criticized the White House for approving the deal.
“What a 'stupid' and unpatriotic disgrace to America!!!” former President Donald Trump wrote on his website Truth Social.
"This is a gift to Vladimir Putin, endangering American lives." Republican Rep. , wrote that the Biden administration showed "weakness" by agreeing to release Mr. Bout.
The exchange included two of his private planes taking Bout and Griner from Moscow and Washington to Abu Dhabi airport and back home.
When negotiations to secure Griner's release began in the summer, the US said it hoped to include former Marine Paul Whelan in the exchange.
Vladimir, Russia Friday Putin said at a press conference that future prisoner exchanges between Russia and the United States are possible and that
the intelligence services of the two countries are in contact.But Whelan, who was jailed on suspicion of espionage in 2018, was not included in Thursday's swap, threatening the hopes of his family.
"I understand why you are still sitting here." I can't," he said. "Things were going in the right direction, the government was negotiating, and I was led to believe that something would happen soon."
"We are working to get you home," said the envoy. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who is expected to become the next Speaker of the House, wrote on Twitter that it was "ruthless" not to get Whelan's release as part of the deal.
Viktor Bout sold weapons to warlords and rogue governments and became one of the most wanted men in the world. His work inspired the 2005 Hollywood movie Lord of War.
His covert career ended in 2008 when he was arrested in a hotel in the Thai capital of Bangkok, much to the chagrin of the Russian government, by an elaborate US stabbing.
He was extradited two years after him and has spent the last 12 years in an American prison for aiding terrorists and conspiring to murder Americans.
Footage released by Russian state media showed him stepping off the plane with a bouquet of flowers before hugging his mother and wife.
After her husband returned home, Bout's wife Alla told state news agency Tass that her husband was well fed and "treated very well" during the prisoner exchange.
"He wasn't tied up, he wasn't handcuffed. He was treated very generously," she said.