After a long detainment, Brittney Griner is back on U.S. soil.
A video was released earlier today showing WNBA player Brittney Griner exiting an aircraft. According to CNN, the formerly imprisoned Griner touched down in San Antonio, Texas, this morning after being swapped for convicted Russian gun dealer Viktor Bout known as the “Merchant of Death.”
The news comes less than 24 hours after Russian media released video clips of Griner preparing to board an airplane to be exchanged for Bout.
Media outlets have started to show videos of Griner exiting the aircraft in Texas where she lives. There is no word on who greeted her or any other arrangements. Russian media released edited videos Thursday showing the moment the two former prisoners were exchanged before they were escorted to the waiting aircraft.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Roger D. Carstens tweeted Griner’s return this morning via his Twitter account.
CBS News reported that the newly freed Griner was flown to Kelly Field in San Antonio. As is standard for prisoners who have been jailed in another country, the Phoenix Mercury player will undergo a medical evaluation.
The WNBA star is returning home after spending the last 10 months in Russia being detained for possessing vape canisters with cannabis oil. She was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February as Russia began its war with Ukraine.
President Joe Biden released a statement yesterday regarding the athlete’s return to the United States.
“After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release.”
The prisoner swap took place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.