AMN/ WEB DESK
American basketball star Brittney Griner reached the United States on Friday after being released from a Russian prison in exchange for an arms dealer. Grine was arrested in Russia in February on drug charges, and Viktor Bout serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison were exchanged at an airport in Abu Dhabi.
US President Joe Biden announced the release of the basketball star in an address to the nation at the White House.
The Russian state media released footage showing Griner, and Bout crossing paths on the airport tarmac and heading toward the planes that would take them home.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Brittney Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport nine months ago. She was accused of possession of vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison.
Viktor Bout, who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, was detained in an American sting operation in Thailand in 2008, extradited to the United States, and sentenced in 2012 to 25 years behind bars.