After months of being detained in Russia, US basketball star Brittney Griner is on her way home after being released in exchange for a Russian arms dealer.
Brittney Griner will arrive back in the United States "within the next 24 hours", President Joe Biden said.United States basketball star Brittney Griner has been released in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for Viktor Bout, a former arms dealer, and was heading back to the United States, ending what President Joe Biden called months of "hell" for her and her wife.
The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Bout, 55, a Russian citizen who in 2012 was given a 25-year prison sentence by a US court on multiple charges related to his arms-dealing career. Mr Biden thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping facilitate Griner's return but did not mention Saudi Arabia in his remarks. The White House said that talks that secured the basketball star's release only occurred between the US and Russia.
Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Griner from the Oval Office, along with Griner's wife, Cherelle. The White House released a photo of the telephone call.
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