Brittney Griner to land in San Antonio after release in prisoner swap

People in Griner’s hometown of Houston celebrated her release Thursday. Mayor Sylvester Turner said city hall will be lit in red, white and blue to honor Griner, according to the Houston Chronicle. The 6-foot, 8-inch teen left Houston in 2009 and moved 150 miles northwest to play at Baylor University. Baylor’s athletics website declares her “The Face of Women’s Basketball.”

Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout were swapped at the Dubai airport after mediation from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The choice of location highlights the increased role these two Middle Eastern countries play in mediating between Russia and the rest of the world: the number of viable “neutral zones” shrank after Moscow unleashed in Ukraine Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. Just weeks ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman scored diplomatic points by securing the release of foreign fighters captured in Ukraine, including two Americans, signaling to the West the value of his closeness to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the UAE, saying in October that the gulf state can play a “significant” role in efforts to reach a resolution of the war in Ukraine.

Brittney Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas, thanked the Biden administration and many others involved in Griner’s release in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon.

“It’s through hardship that character is revealed, and over the last nine months, we have seen the best of so many,” the statement read. “At the top of that list are BG and President Biden. Throughout this ordeal, BG has carried herself with courage, grace and grit; and President Biden made us a promise, and then kept his word and did what was necessary to bring her home. We are forever grateful for his follow-through on that commitment.”

Russian lawyers for Paul Whelan, the former U.S. marine who remains in Russian custody, said they are “upset by the decision” not to include their client in the swap but believe he too will be released at some point in the future.

“There was a lot of speculation about this and there was hope; Paul and his family had hoped he would finally return home to his very elderly parents,” his lawyer Olga Karlova told The Washington Post.

“We don’t know exactly why [he hasn’t been added]; maybe because he is too valuable for the swap, and they’ve decided to hold him for longer,” she added.

When WNBA star Brittney Griner apologized to her family in a low, emotional voice to a Russian court in August, it was a poignant moment. But few outside Russia – and perhaps few within the country – ever thought she would get a fair trial.

Griner – through what she admitted was a careless accident – had become caught up in Russia’s highly politicized justice system, where courts are routinely used as a tool of the state, to punish political enemies, crush opposition figures, sow fear and send a message that anyone who violates the Kremlin’s red lines can be ruined.

The White House says Brittney Griner has, over the past 48 hours, been moved from the penal colony where she was being held in Russia to Moscow, and then to the United Arab Emirates, where she boarded a plane home.

Griner is now on the plane from the United Arab Emirates to the United States, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. The Russian arms dealer freed in exchange for her release, Viktor Bout, was given a conditional grant of clemency that was not completed until Thursday, when U.S. officials in the United Arab Emirates verified that Griner was there and ready to return to America.

After initially staying subdued about Brittney Griner’s imprisonment, WNBA players and coaches ultimately advocated forcefully for her release — keeping public attention trained on her detention for months.

All the WNBA’s teams had a decal with Griner’s initials and No. 42 on their courts throughout the season. The league also got clearance for the Phoenix Mercury to keep paying Griner, despite the team’s salary cap.

Griner was an honorary starter at the WNBA’s All-Star Game in July, and both teams wore a jersey with her name and number during the second half of the matchup.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that the administration will continue working to secure Paul Whelan’s release, saying that Russia was not willing to reach an agreement on his release.

Russia, she said, was willing only to let Brittney Griner go in exchange for the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Whelan has been made aware that Griner was released, Jean-Pierre added.

“This was not a choice for us on which American to bring home,” Jean-Pierre said. “That was not the choice. It was a choice between bringing home one American or bringing home none.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the United Arab Emirates’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on Wednesday, a day before the exchange of WNBA star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The Kremlin statement about Wednesday’s call did not mention whether arrangements on the exchange were discussed, but said the talks covered trade and economic cooperation.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the exchange at Abu Dhabi Airport in a brief statement on Thursday.