The United States and Russia completed a prisoner exchange on Thursday that included American basketball star Brittney Griner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the White House and Russian Foreign Ministry said respectively.
“On December 8, 2022, at Abu Dhabi airport, the exchange procedure of Russian citizen Viktor Bout for American citizen Brittney Griner, who were respectively serving sentences in penal institutions in the United States and Russia, was successfully completed,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Telegram.
Viktor Bout, a famous Russian arms dealer, had been detained in the United States for more than 10 years.
US President Joe Biden announced for his part that Brittney Griner, detained in Russia since February, was now “safe” and “en route” to the United States.
“A few moments ago I spoke with Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way to the United States, ”tweeted the American president.
Brittney Griner, 32, was transferred in November to a penal colony in Russia to serve her nine-year prison sentence for “drug trafficking”, after being arrested in February at a Moscow airport with a vape and liquid containing cannabis.
More details will follow.
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