WNBA Star Griner Freed in One-for-One Swap for Arms Dealer
- Moscow wins long-sought exchange for ‘merchant of death’ Bout
- Former US Marine Paul Whelan left out of prisoner exchange
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President Joe Biden announced that WNBA star Brittney Griner had been released from detention in Russia, celebrating her one-to-one swap for a notorious arms dealer who had been convicted and imprisoned in the US.
Griner, 32, was exchanged in a trade for Viktor Bout, according to a statement from Russia’s foreign ministry and senior Biden administration officials. The president didn’t mention Bout, known as the “merchant of death,” in his remarks, and acknowledged that his administration has so far failed to achieve the release of another American the US considers unjustly imprisoned in Russia, former Marine Paul Whelan.