Brittney Griner from Russian Prison in Sunny UAE
2022.12.08 11:54
Brittney Griner from Russian Prison in Sunny UAE
Budrigannews.com – According to officials from the United States, Brittney Griner, a basketball player for the United States, has traveled from a prison colony in Russia to an airport in the United Arab Emirates and back within the last 48 hours.
Griner flew private from Moscow to Abu Dhabi, where she was to be exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, who flew private from Washington to Washington.
According to a U.S. official, the two walked past each other on the runway.
Her harrowing ten months in captivity came to an end after months of fruitless negotiations between the United States and Russia, which were complicated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia.
A senior organization official said President Joe Biden by and by followed the dealings intently for quite a long time, however it was exclusively lately that he made the “exceptionally excruciating” choice to give mercy to Session to finish the trade.
According to a joint UAE-Saudi statement, Griner’s release was secured through mediation efforts led by the UAE president and Saudi crown prince.
On Thursday, Biden stated that he had spoken with Griner and that she would return to the United States within the next 24 hours.
More Saudi Arabia and UAE mediated Griner’s release-statement
On February 17, 32-year-old Phoenix Mercury star Griner was stopped at an airport outside of Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
She was then found guilty of smuggling drugs and sent to one of Russia’s most feared penal colonies, where former inmates have talked about being tortured, beaten hard, and forced to work as a slave.
Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine, remains in Russian custody following Bout’s release, which his family described as a “catastrophe.”
A U.S. official stated, “The negotiations focused on getting both Americans held wrongfully detained in Russia home.” As I’ve emphasized, bringing Brittney Griner home right now or not bringing any American home right now was ultimately clear.
