Brittney Griner: WNBA star arrives at US hospital after being released by Russia in prisoner swap

The WNBA star was detained at a Russian airport in February

Brittney Griner back on US soil after spending 294 days in Russian prison

Brittney Griner has returned to US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.

The WNBA star arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio early on 9 December for examination and any additional medical treatment.

Footage showed Ms Griner and Bout being exchanged on the tarmac of a runway in the United Arab Emirates on 8 December following weeks of negotiations between Washington DC and Moscow.

The deal failed to include US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia for the last four years. Mr Whelan told CNN he was “greatly disappointed” to learn he was not part of the prisoner swap, saying: “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

President Joe Biden insisted that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan” and vowed to “never give up” securing his release, as the swap divided opinion across the country. The White House was also forced to deny claims made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE that Mohammed bin Salman negotiated the deal.

Key points

• Brittney Griner lands on US soil
• White House denies claims MBS negotiated swap
• Trump turned down offer to release Whelan years ago, says Bolton
• Paul Whelan says he’s ‘disappointed’ the Biden administration didn’t do more to secure his release
• President ‘guarantees’ to keep negotiating for detained marine’s release

[9 December 2022 12:25 · Rachel Sharp]

WATCH: Moment Brittney Griner lands back on US soil

Brittney Griner landed back on US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.

A plane carrying the WNBA star landed at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio at around 5.30am ET on Friday morning.

Watch the moment she arrived back on US soil here:

[9 December 2022 12:05 · Rachel Sharp]

‘Welcome home BG!’ says state department

Roger Carstens, the State Department’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, celebrated Brittney Griner’s return to US soil on Friday morning.

“So happy to have Brittney back on U.S. soil. Welcome home BG!” he tweeted.

[9 December 2022 11:44 · Rachel Sharp]

White House denies claims MBS negotiated release of Griner

The White House has denied claims that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman negotiated the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap for the notorious Russian arms dealer dubbed the “Merchant of Death”.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted on Thursday that – despite the prisoner exchange taking place on middle eastern soil – the only nations involved in the negotiations were the US and Russia.

“The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia,” she said.

“There was no mediation involved.”

Saudi Arabia and the UAE sought to take credit for the release of Ms Griner, issuing a joint statement claiming that MBS acted as a mediator between Russia and Moscow.

“The success of the mediation efforts was a reflection of the mutual and solid friendship between their two countries and the United States of America and the Russian Federation,” the joint statement said.

It said the episode “highlighted the important role played by the leaderships of the two brotherly countries in promoting dialogue between all parties”.

The claim came just two days after a US judge dismissed a lawsuit against MBS over the murder of US journalist citizen and journalist Jamal Khashoggi and months after President Joe Biden controversially met with the crown prince.

[9 December 2022 11:10 · Rachel Sharp]

ICYMI: Watch Brittney Griner board plane releasing her from Russian jail

[9 December 2022 10:51 · Rachel Sharp]

Brittney Griner lands back on US soil

Brittney Griner has landed back on US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.

A plane carrying the WNBA star landed at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio at around 5.30am ET on Friday morning.

She will be examined and receive any necessary medical treatment from the army medical centre before returning to her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

[9 December 2022 10:40 · Rachel Sharp]

‘Devastated’ family of American prisoner Paul Whelan backs Griner deal

The family of an American detained in Russia for nearly four years said Thursday that the Biden administration “made the right decision” in agreeing to a prisoner exchange that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner but they are “devastated” that Paul Whelan remains behind.

“As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said in a statement. “There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home. The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”

Whelan is a Michigan corporate security executive who has been jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government has said are baseless.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” President Joe Biden said as the White House announced the deal for Griner’s release. “We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”

Read our full report.

[9 December 2022 10:20 · Rachel Sharp]

Saudi Arabia and UAE claim they helped free Brittney Griner

Saudi Arabia’s controversial crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the president of the UAE, have claimed they led the mediation efforts that led to the release of basketball star Brittney Griner.

As Joe Biden told the world that Ms Griner had been releaed from Russia after 10 months of detention, in exchange for the return to Moscow of convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed it had played a role in the negotiations that led to the swap.

Ms Griner, 32, arrived in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi by private plane from Moscow after her release by Russian authorities, a joint statement said.

At the same time, Mr Bout, a former arms dealer, came in on another private plane from Washington after being released by US authorities.

Andrew Buncombe has more.

[9 December 2022 10:00 · Josh Marcus]

Biden gives speech welcoming Brittney Griner back to US

Joe Biden has spoken of how “proud” he is to reunite Brittney Griner with her family after the WNBA star was released from Russian detention on Thursday (8 December).

Ms Griner will return to the US as part of a prisoner exchange which also saw notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was held in an American prison for 12 years, released.

“I’m proud that today we have made one more family whole again,” the US president said.

“So welcome home, Brittney.”

Independent TV is tracking the story.

[9 December 2022 09:00 · Josh Marcus]

ICYMI: Who is the ‘Merchant of Death’ released in Brittney Griner exchange?

Viktor Bout, one of the world’s most infamous arms dealers, has been released from US custody.

Also known as the Merchant of Death, he was freed as part of a prisoner exchange with basketball star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia.

Bout, a former Soviet military translator turned international arms dealer, was imprisoned for more than a decade.

“Viktor Bout, in my eyes, is one of the most dangerous men on the face of the Earth,” Michael Braun, the former chief of operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, said in 2010.

Oliver Browning reports.

[9 December 2022 07:59 · Josh Marcus]

The fight to free Paul Whelan continues with new ally: Brittney Griner’s wife

Former WNBA star Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, celebrated her partner’s upcoming release from a Russian penal colony, but vowed to continue fighting for other Americans locked up abroad — including Paul Whelan — even after Griner is home.

Russia has reportedly agreed to a prisoner swap with the US. Griner — who was imprisoned on smuggling charges after she brought a THC vape cartridge into the country — will be exchanged for the “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer who conspired to killed Americans.

Cherelle Griner addressed reporters in Washington DC alongside Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, celebrating her wife’s release and saying the couple will continue to fight for other Americans who have been imprisoned outside of the country.

“BG’s [Brittney Griner] not here to say this but I will gladly speak on her behalf and say that BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul [Whelan], whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate BG being home,” she told the press.

Graig Graziosi has the details.