Russia Confirms Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange Talks Are Happening
Stephanie Holland
Thu, August 11, 2022
Photo: Christian Petersen (Getty Images)
In the week since WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison, it’s been theorized by journalists and pundits that prisoner exchange talks would get more serious now that Russia’s legal process has played out. It appears those opinions are true.
According to The Washington Post, the Russian government is now confirming that negotiations for a possible prisoner swap are happening. Talks were first authorized by President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in April when they met in Geneva.
“Instructions were given to authorized structures to carry out negotiations,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ivan Nechayev. “They are being conducted by competent authorities,”
As we previously reported at The Root, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the United States made a “substantial offer” to exchange the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained since 2018 on alleged spying charges, for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving 25 years in federal prison.
With two countries engaged in public saber-rattling and posturing, it was beginning to feel like no one was actually concerned about bringing Brittney home. Confirmation of talks means things are at least moving in the right direction.
Former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson recently told This Week host George Stephanopoulos that he’s “optimistic” about a possible two-for-two deal that would bring Griner and Whelan home.
“I think she’s going to be freed,” Richardson said. “I think she has the right strategy of contrition, a good legal team. There’s going to be a prisoner swap, though. And I think it will be two-for-two involving Paul Whelan. We can’t forget him. He’s an American Marine wrongfully detained, too.”
It’s important to note that when a deal does happen we won’t hear about it until the Phoenix Mercury center is on her way home or already on American soil. Despite how unexpectedly public these negotiations have been, it’s rare for us to find out when a deal has actually been made.
Stephanie Holland
Thu, August 11, 2022
Photo: Christian Petersen (Getty Images)
In the week since WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison, it’s been theorized by journalists and pundits that prisoner exchange talks would get more serious now that Russia’s legal process has played out. It appears those opinions are true.
According to The Washington Post, the Russian government is now confirming that negotiations for a possible prisoner swap are happening. Talks were first authorized by President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in April when they met in Geneva.
“Instructions were given to authorized structures to carry out negotiations,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ivan Nechayev. “They are being conducted by competent authorities,”
As we previously reported at The Root, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the United States made a “substantial offer” to exchange the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained since 2018 on alleged spying charges, for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving 25 years in federal prison.
With two countries engaged in public saber-rattling and posturing, it was beginning to feel like no one was actually concerned about bringing Brittney home. Confirmation of talks means things are at least moving in the right direction.
Former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson recently told This Week host George Stephanopoulos that he’s “optimistic” about a possible two-for-two deal that would bring Griner and Whelan home.
“I think she’s going to be freed,” Richardson said. “I think she has the right strategy of contrition, a good legal team. There’s going to be a prisoner swap, though. And I think it will be two-for-two involving Paul Whelan. We can’t forget him. He’s an American Marine wrongfully detained, too.”
It’s important to note that when a deal does happen we won’t hear about it until the Phoenix Mercury center is on her way home or already on American soil. Despite how unexpectedly public these negotiations have been, it’s rare for us to find out when a deal has actually been made.
Meredith Cash
Thu, August 11, 2022
Brittney Griner.
Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP Photo
The WNBA superstar Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
The US government has classified her as wrongfully detained and is working to negotiate her freedom.
Some Americans don't want her to return. A political scientist said two theories could explain why.
Some Americans are rooting against Brittney Griner's return home to the United States.
The WNBA superstar was arrested in February after customs agents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. She was found guilty of drug smuggling in early August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
Griner was escorted out of the courtroom after receiving her verdict and sentence.
The WNBA superstar Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
The US government has classified her as wrongfully detained and is working to negotiate her freedom.
Some Americans don't want her to return. A political scientist said two theories could explain why.
Some Americans are rooting against Brittney Griner's return home to the United States.
The WNBA superstar was arrested in February after customs agents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. She was found guilty of drug smuggling in early August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
Griner was escorted out of the courtroom after receiving her verdict and sentence.
Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters
Given the timing of her detainment, the nature of her alleged offense, and the reputation of Russian courts, Griner is widely considered to be a political pawn that Moscow is using as leverage against the United States. As such, the State Department classified Griner as wrongfully detained in May.
Even despite the "strong signal that the US government does not believe that there is a legitimate case against her," as an expert previously told Insider, many of the two-time Olympic gold medalist's compatriots are opposed to the Biden administration's efforts to secure her freedom through negotiating a prisoner exchange with the Kremlin.
And there could be a scientific explanation to why they've sided with a foreign adversary instead of supporting their fellow American.
Griner competed for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.
Given the timing of her detainment, the nature of her alleged offense, and the reputation of Russian courts, Griner is widely considered to be a political pawn that Moscow is using as leverage against the United States. As such, the State Department classified Griner as wrongfully detained in May.
Even despite the "strong signal that the US government does not believe that there is a legitimate case against her," as an expert previously told Insider, many of the two-time Olympic gold medalist's compatriots are opposed to the Biden administration's efforts to secure her freedom through negotiating a prisoner exchange with the Kremlin.
And there could be a scientific explanation to why they've sided with a foreign adversary instead of supporting their fellow American.
Griner competed for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.
Charlie Neibergall/AP
Dani Gilbert, an expert on hostage taking and recovery and a Rosenwald Fellow in US Foreign Policy and International Security at Dartmouth College's John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, told Insider that her research suggests that "how someone came to be in need of assistance affects whether or not the public thinks that person should receive it."
This phenomenon, she said, is called the "deservingness heuristic."
Gilbert used poverty as an example for her explanation. People who believe that poor people are simply unlucky are the ones who are willing to support programs that provide assistance. But those who deem poor people lazy are less likely to support those same programs.
Her research, which she conducted along with a colleague at the University of California San Diego, suggests that that same theory applies to the public perception of hostages and wrongfully detained people. Griner is no exception.
Dani Gilbert, an expert on hostage taking and recovery and a Rosenwald Fellow in US Foreign Policy and International Security at Dartmouth College's John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, told Insider that her research suggests that "how someone came to be in need of assistance affects whether or not the public thinks that person should receive it."
This phenomenon, she said, is called the "deservingness heuristic."
Gilbert used poverty as an example for her explanation. People who believe that poor people are simply unlucky are the ones who are willing to support programs that provide assistance. But those who deem poor people lazy are less likely to support those same programs.
Her research, which she conducted along with a colleague at the University of California San Diego, suggests that that same theory applies to the public perception of hostages and wrongfully detained people. Griner is no exception.
Griner in her defendant's cage during her Russian drug-smuggling trial.
Dmitry Serebryakov/AP Photo
"The fact that the American public might be really focused on the alleged drug possession and the outlandish accusation of drug smuggling might make the American public less willing to pay attention to this case," Gilbert said, adding that the public may also be "less supportive of government efforts to bring her home."
She continued, "That's the kind of dynamic that might really be in play."
"It's unfortunately quite predictable that Americans respond this way," Gilbert added.
Gilbert further explained that personal characteristics could have an effect on the way the public regards Griner's situation: Though "gender tends to be less influential in how the American public and how the media care about, sympathize with, pay attention to Americans who are held hostage abroad" than some other factors, "race is a huge deal here."
Griner.Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters
This concept is aptly called "the missing white woman syndrome," Gilbert said.
"A white girl or a white woman who is taken captive or arrested or something like that elicits tons of sympathy from the American public in a way that women and girls of color do not," she explained. Gilbert believed that the fact that Griner is Black "could be a huge part of the lack of attention to her case."
"And then there are other demographic characteristics, including the fact that she is openly gay, that she is gender nonconforming, not traditionally feminine — all of these work against public sympathy for someone in her position," Gilbert added.
Griner's beliefs may also play a role in her perceived deservingness of spending nine years in a Russian penal colony. Though she's not particularly political — having cast her first vote during the 2020 presidential election — she's received serious criticism for her views on the national anthem.
Griner on the bench as the Phoenix Mercury competed in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
"The fact that the American public might be really focused on the alleged drug possession and the outlandish accusation of drug smuggling might make the American public less willing to pay attention to this case," Gilbert said, adding that the public may also be "less supportive of government efforts to bring her home."
She continued, "That's the kind of dynamic that might really be in play."
"It's unfortunately quite predictable that Americans respond this way," Gilbert added.
Gilbert further explained that personal characteristics could have an effect on the way the public regards Griner's situation: Though "gender tends to be less influential in how the American public and how the media care about, sympathize with, pay attention to Americans who are held hostage abroad" than some other factors, "race is a huge deal here."
Griner.Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters
This concept is aptly called "the missing white woman syndrome," Gilbert said.
"A white girl or a white woman who is taken captive or arrested or something like that elicits tons of sympathy from the American public in a way that women and girls of color do not," she explained. Gilbert believed that the fact that Griner is Black "could be a huge part of the lack of attention to her case."
"And then there are other demographic characteristics, including the fact that she is openly gay, that she is gender nonconforming, not traditionally feminine — all of these work against public sympathy for someone in her position," Gilbert added.
Griner's beliefs may also play a role in her perceived deservingness of spending nine years in a Russian penal colony. Though she's not particularly political — having cast her first vote during the 2020 presidential election — she's received serious criticism for her views on the national anthem.
Griner on the bench as the Phoenix Mercury competed in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Rick Scuteri/AP Photo
"I honestly feel we should not play the National Anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand," Griner told the Arizona Republic in July 2020, when many athletes knelt or stayed off the court when the anthem played in order to protest police brutality and honor Black Americans who were killed by police, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
"I don't mean that in any disrespect to our country," she added. "My dad was in Vietnam and a law officer for 30 years. I wanted to be a cop before basketball. I do have pride for my country."
Still, some see Griner as unpatriotic. Gilbert mentioned Facebook comments she saw that basically said, "If you hate the United States so much, how does it feel now?"
"I honestly feel we should not play the National Anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand," Griner told the Arizona Republic in July 2020, when many athletes knelt or stayed off the court when the anthem played in order to protest police brutality and honor Black Americans who were killed by police, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
"I don't mean that in any disrespect to our country," she added. "My dad was in Vietnam and a law officer for 30 years. I wanted to be a cop before basketball. I do have pride for my country."
Still, some see Griner as unpatriotic. Gilbert mentioned Facebook comments she saw that basically said, "If you hate the United States so much, how does it feel now?"
Griner behind bars.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/Reuters
"I think that feeds in, in a way, to the whole deservingness thing," Gilbert said. "People decide in their minds, if someone protests or has a particular political persuasion, that that suddenly means that they're not worthy of government assistance."
"What we should really be focused on is the fact that she was wrongfully detained and is sitting in Russian prison in illegitimate arrest," she added. "And that any American in that situation deserves help to come home."
"I think that feeds in, in a way, to the whole deservingness thing," Gilbert said. "People decide in their minds, if someone protests or has a particular political persuasion, that that suddenly means that they're not worthy of government assistance."
"What we should really be focused on is the fact that she was wrongfully detained and is sitting in Russian prison in illegitimate arrest," she added. "And that any American in that situation deserves help to come home."
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