Exchange of prisoners | Russia releases basketball star Brittney Griner

Washington and Moscow have reached an agreement which also commits to the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, imprisoned for ten years in the United States.

grinner liberated

Jailed in Russia for nine months, American basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner was released on Thursday, the White House announced. “A few moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way back,” President Joe Biden tweeted, pictured in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner, Ms.^me Grind. In a trial described as “rigged” by the United States, M^me Griner was sentenced earlier this year to nine years in prison for being in possession of a vaping cartridge containing traces of cannabis.

One for one

In exchange, Washington agreed to release Viktor Bout, a major Russian arms trafficker, who had been dubbed “the dealer of death” because he allegedly sold large quantities of weapons to countries under embargo by the US. UN, such as Liberia, Darfur and Afghanistan. Bout had been imprisoned for a decade in the United States after being arrested in Thailand in 2008. The prisoner swap took place at Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the Russian Affairs Ministry said. strangers on Telegram.

Communication Washington-Moscow

The case of the 32-year-old basketball player was of course made more complex by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia last February, an invasion which provoked harsh criticism from Washington, in particular on the thousands of civilian victims. Ukrainians killed by Russian troops. Philosopher Michael LaBossiere, a scholar of theories of knowledge from Florida A&M University, notes that a positive aspect of the exchange is that it indicates that the United States and Russia still have open communication channels and a willingness to engage in negotiations despite the conflict. “Although it is not directly related to the Russian war against Ukraine, these channels can be used to try to resolve this conflict,” he raises in an interview.

serious crimes

The exchange raises moral concerns since the situation of the two people exchanged could not be more different, also underlines Mr. LaBossiere. “The exchange is disproportionate. Griner, acting as a private citizen, committed a very low level drug offense which does not appear to have been intentional, while Bout was convicted of much more serious crimes and is suspected of being linked to the Russian government . There is also the practical fear that this excellent deal for Russia will encourage it to do the same in the future. »

Paul Whelan still imprisoned

On Thursday, many critics pointed out that Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia for what Washington believes to be politically motivated, was not included in the prisoner swap. “Even if we failed to secure Paul’s release, we will never give up,” Joe Biden said in a statement. In this regard, a senior US government official told Agence France-Presse that the United States had made many proposals for the release of Mr. Whelan. “It was not a situation where we could choose which American to bring home. We had a choice between bringing back one particular American, Brittney Griner, and not bringing anyone back,” he said.

Excessive sentence

The nine-year sentence imposed on Griner by Russia was described as excessively harsh for a minor offense, suggesting that Moscow was simply trying to use the star as a bargaining chip. However, the United States is also known for having committed excesses in terms of prison sentences for simple possession of soft drugs, illustrates Mr. LaBossiere. “Both countries practice unduly harsh drug sentencing of black Americans, and both are wrong to do so, although their motivations are totally different,” he says.

Viktor Bout arrived in Russia

“Everything is fine,” Viktor Bout told his family on the phone on Thursday after arriving in Russia, according to a short excerpt broadcast on a public television channel.

“I love you very much,” he told his mother, Raïssa Bout, moved.

In a second video clip broadcast on the same Russian television channel, we could see Viktor Bout boarding a plane.

The thinned face, the grizzled mustache, he had a smile on his face, a nurse taking his temperature and checking his blood pressure.

He was later greeted by his family upon his arrival in Moscow, according to footage released by the Rossiya 24 news channel.

“They just woke me up in the middle of the night and told me to pack my things. There was no clear information beforehand,” he said.

“I got here, that’s the most important thing.”

France Media Agency

With Agence France-Presse