ABC News Griner was arrested at a Moscow area airport for having hasish oil.
The basketball star was taken into custody at a Moscow area airport in February in possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil, an illegal substance in Russia.
Griner pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 7. She appealed the sentence, but was quickly rejected in October.
Key headlines:
- Griner headed to Brooke Army Medical Center
- Griner negotiations were ‘painstaking,’ Russians treating Whelan differently: Biden
- Biden says Griner will be home within 24 hours
- Cherelle Griner calls past months ‘one of the darkest moments of my life’
- Biden speaks to Griner aboard plane
Viktor Bout’s attorney says swap ‘fair’
“As we have urged for some time, given the fifteen long years that Viktor Bout has been in custody since the United States government targeted him in 2006, his exchange for Brittney Griner, who has only been in custody for a few months, is fair,” the attorney, Steve Zissou, said. “Like Brittney Griner, Viktor Bout will soon be reunited with his family.”
Zissou thanked the Russian foreign ministry and Russian President Vladimir Putin for Bout’s release from prison.
“Hopefully, this is just the first of many reasonable agreements between the U.S. and Russia that will lead to better relations and a safer world,” Zissou said.
The exchange has drawn concern from some U.S. lawmakers, as well as criticism from the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who oversaw the agency’s investigation of Bout…
READ FULL STORY HERE… ABC News (go.com)
