Shaun TANDON
Thu, December 8, 2022
Brittney Griner's release from a prison ordeal in Russia sparked an outpouring of joy -- but also raised tough questions for Joe Biden: was the US president right to trade a notorious arms dealer for the basketball star jailed on minor drug charges?
The rival Republican Party quickly attacked Biden whose spokeswoman said he made no apologies for freeing Griner, a 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist and LGBTQ trailblazer who was locked up after being found with small quantities of cannabis oil in vape cartridges.
Bout, the inspiration for the movie "Lord of War" who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world's bloodiest conflicts, was handed 25 years in prison in 2012.
Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, who sentenced him in a federal court in New York, said there was no equivalence between the two cases but welcomed the exchange for Griner.
"I think Viktor Bout has served sufficient time, frankly, for the crimes of which he was convicted," Scheindlin, now in private practice, told AFP.
She said she was required to hand down a minimum sentence she considered excessive because Bout was convicted on terrorism charges.
Bout was detained in Thailand in 2008 in a US sting for allegedly trying to sell arms to Colombia's FARC rebels -- an operation Scheindlin described as Bout having been "roped in."
"He himself wasn't a terrorist. He was a businessman arms dealer. And there are arms dealers in every country including the United States of America."
- 'One or none' -
But Scheindlin said she wished Bout were freed not only for Griner but for Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in 2018 on espionage accusations.
Although both Whelan and the US government deny the spying allegations, Scheindlin argued that trading him for Bout would have made "a little more sense" given the severity of the charges he faces.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who raised the prisoner swap in rare direct contact with his Russian counterpart in the midst of the Ukraine war, said that Russia treated the two cases differently as it saw Whelan "through the lens of sham espionage charges."
"This was not a choice about which American to bring home. The choice was, in this instance, one or none," Blinken told reporters.
Will Pomeranz, the director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, said Russia would see a victory in freeing Bout.
"It demonstrates that the Russian state always has the back of their security services and that they will leave no one behind, even as it means long and protracted negotiation," he said.
He said that while Griner's arrest was consistent with Russia's strict drug laws, President Vladimir Putin "clearly had leverage" after Biden publicly put a priority on freeing Griner, whose plight has drawn wide interest in the United States.
Pomeranz expected a difficult task ahead to free Whelan.
"Paul Whelan's best chance to get out of Russia was being part of the Brittney Griner swap," he said.
- Incentive to adversaries? -
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, while welcoming Griner's release, said the deal showed Putin "how detaining high-profile Americans on relatively minor charges can both distract American officials and cause them to release truly bad individuals who belong behind bars."
Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis, pointing to Bout's record, said Biden should have secured the release of both Whelan and Griner, writing on Twitter, "A US Marine is left behind in another bad deal made by Biden."
But the United States has repeatedly shown a willingness to carry out deals criticized as disproportionate to free citizens in response to public opinion.
Other democracies have made similar decisions: in one of the most striking examples, Israel in 2011 freed more than 1,000 prisoners in exchange for the release of a single soldier, Gilad Shalit, by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The United States has set a government policy of not paying ransoms for its citizens, hoping to avoid incentives for hostage-taking.
In a possible sign of the public mood, an American football player, Micah Parsons, voiced anger on Twitter that the United States "left a Marine" but backtracked and apologized after a deluge of criticism and said he was "extremely happy" for Griner.
Paul Rieckhoff, a veterans advocate and commentator, said that Whelan should be released "full stop" but said Griner was "at unique risk in Russian prison" as a Black and LGBTQ woman.
"When she gets home, I have no doubt she'll be out in front leading the fight for the release of Paul Whelan. And we should all join her."
sct/ec
Issued on: 08/12/2022 -
American basketball star Brittney Griner was headed home on Thursday after being freed from a Russian prison in a swap for Viktor Bout, the notorious arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death."
President Joe Biden announced Griner's release in an early morning address to the nation and Moscow confirmed she had been exchanged in Abu Dhabi for Bout, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
"She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home," Biden said, adding that he had spoken to Griner and she was in "good spirits" after what he described as a "terrible ordeal."
Another American held in Russia, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who was arrested in Russia in 2018 and accused of spying, was not part of the deal and the US president pledged to continue to seek his freedom.
"Sadly, Russia is treating Paul's case different than Brittney's and even though we have not secured Paul's release we will never give up," Biden said.
She was accused of possession of vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison.
Biden said Griner would need time to recover from "needless trauma" after being "wrongfully detained" and held in Russia's IK-2 penal colony, a facility in the town of Yavas in the central region of Mordovia.
Biden made the announcement at the White House flanked by Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"I'm just standing here, overwhelmed with emotions," Cherelle Griner said, describing the ordeal of her wife's imprisonment as "one of the darkest moments of my life."
'Family is whole'
Biden publicly thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping "facilitate" Griner's release and the UAE issued a joint statement with Saudi Arabia saying it was the result of "mediation efforts" by leaders of the two Arab nations.
Griner and Bout were flown to Abu Dhabi by private planes, the statement said, and were exchanged "in the presence of specialists from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia."
Biden said Griner was expected back in the United States within 24 hours.
In her remarks, Cherelle Griner acknowledged Whelan's fate, saying: "Today my family is whole, but as you all are aware there's so many other families who are not whole."
In a statement, Paul Whelan's brother David said he was "glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home."
David Whelan expressed disappointment that his brother had not been freed but said "the Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen."
At the time of her arrest, Griner had been in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team, during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury.
She pleaded guilty to the charges against her, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia.
Griner testified that she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve pain from her many injuries, and had never failed a drug test.
The use of medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had been negotiating with Washington to secure Bout's release "for a long time" and that initially the United States had "refused dialogue" on including him in any swap.
"Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work to rescue our compatriot," it said. "The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland."
Bout, who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world's bloodiest conflicts, was arrested in Thailand in a US sting operation in 2008, extradited to the US and sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison.
(AFP)
Brittney Griner: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout
REUTERSThe US and Russia have exchanged jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, held in an American prison for 12 years.
President Joe Biden said Griner was safe and on a plane home from the United Arab Emirates.
"I'm glad to say Brittney's in good spirits... she needs time and space to recover," he said at the White House.
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and last month sent to a penal colony.
The Biden administration proposed a prisoner exchange in July, aware Moscow had long sought Bout's release.
The elaborate swap involved two private planes bringing the pair to Abu Dhabi airport from Moscow and Washington respectively, and then flying them home.
According to Politico website they walked past each other on the airport tarmac.
"The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. Hours later he spoke to his family and said he was back on Russian soil. Reports said his plane had stopped for refuelling in the Dagestan region, three hours' flight from Moscow.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle praised the efforts of the Biden administration in securing her release: "I'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions."
Cherelle Griner thanks those who have helped end her wife Brittney's imprisonment
A joint Saudi-UAE statement revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had taken a leading role in mediation efforts, along with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
The heir to the Saudi throne has good relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin and in September he helped co-ordinate a complex swap of hundreds of prisoners held by Russia and Ukraine.
When negotiations began to secure Griner's release during the summer, the US made clear it wanted ex-marine Paul Whelan to be included in an exchange.
But it became clear Whelan, jailed in 2018 on suspicion of spying, would not be part of the Russian swap, dashing his family's hopes.
Bout's lawyer, Alexei Tarasov, told Russian TV that from the start the US wanted two of its citizens returned, and Russia's foreign ministry complained that "Washington categorically refused to engage in dialogue".
Paul Whelan told CNN he was "greatly disappointed" more had not been done to free him, as he had carried out no crime: "I don't understand why I'm still sitting here," he said.
President Biden finally signed the order for Bout's release, commuting his 25-year jail term, in a direct swap for Griner.
"In the end, as we have seen, the exchange took place in the format of one for one. Because really an exchange should be equal," said Mr Tarasov.
Bout's wife Alla told Russian TV she had spoken to him only two days ago: "He was supposed to call me tonight. Now we'll see each other and hug each other. That's better than any phone call."
Viktor Bout sold arms to warlords and rogue governments, becoming one of the world's most wanted men.
Dubbed the "merchant of death" for gun-running in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian's exploits inspired the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, which was loosely based on his life.
REUTERSHis secretive career was brought to an end by an elaborate US sting in 2008, when he was arrested at a hotel in the Thai capital Bangkok, to the anger of the Russian government.
He was extradited two years later and has spent the past 12 years languishing in an American jail for conspiring to support terrorists and kill Americans.
Bout's circumstances could hardly be more different from that of his opposite number in the prisoner swap.
Brittney Griner, 32, is one of the best-known sportswomen in America. During the US basketball season the double Olympic champion is a star centre for Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.
WATCH: President Joe Biden said the US had never stopped pushing for Brittney Griner's release
Her only reason for flying to Moscow was to play in Russia during the off-season in the US. She told her Russian trial that the cannabis oil found in her bag had been an "honest mistake".
In his tweet, President Biden posted a picture from the Oval Office alongside Griner's wife Cherelle.
"Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home," he wrote. Shortly afterwards they both spoke publicly in statements carried live on US TV networks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken singled out the efforts of presidential envoy Roger Carstens, who was accompanying Griner on the plane from the UAE.
Leading figures in US basketball welcomed her release, among them twice WNBA champion Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm.
Griner was moved last month to a penal colony in Mordovia, a remote area some 500km, (310m) south-east of Moscow. She was held not far from where Paul Whelan is serving his 16-year jail term on spying charges.
In his statement President Biden said Russia had treated Whelan's case differently from Griner's for totally illegitimate reasons.
"While we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul's release we have not given up; we will not give up," he vowed.
Whelan's brother, David, praised Griner's release and said US officials had warned the family in advance that Paul Whelan was not part of the exchange.
"It's clear the US government needs to be more assertive," he said in a statement. "If bad actors like Russia are going to grab innocent Americans, the US needs a swifter, more direct response."
Former White House national security advisor John Bolton condemned the deal as a not a swap but a surrender by the Biden administration: "Terrorists and rogue states all around the world will take note of this and it endangers other Americans in the future."
Thursday's prisoner exchange is not the first between Russia and the US this year. US marine Trevor Reed spent three years in jail for assault before being traded last April for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted of smuggling cocaine.
Speaking from a Russian penal colony, Paul Whelan said he had been told that Russia "put me at a level higher than what they did with Trevor and Brittney", because he had been accused of spying.
President Biden urged Americans to take precautions before travelling overseas, and warned of the risk of being wrongfully detained by a foreign government.
