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On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration had presented a proposal to Russia to secure the return of Brittney Griner, a WNBA basketball star from Houston who faces prosecution on drug allegations, and Paul Whelan, another American jailed in Russia.
According to CNN's reporting, Russia has offered to free Griner and Whelan in return for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker now doing time in a U.S. prison. According to a senior administration official, President Joe Biden supports the arrangement, and "based on a history of interactions with the Russians," it should be implemented successfully.
Since February, Griner has been detained on charges of drug possession. Her loved ones have repeatedly requested that the White House intervene to obtain her freedom, including suggesting a prisoner swap. Since 2018, Whelan has been detained in Russia on charges of espionage.
Blinken has promised to raise the issue of Whelan and Griner's release with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coming days. This is going to be the first time the two countries have met since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Former Marine and Texan Trevor Reed was released from a Russian prison earlier this year as part of an exchange. Reed was swapped for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year sentence for his role in a cocaine smuggling operation and was imprisoned in the United States.
As reported by The New York Times, the U.S. Department of State is generally against prisoner transfers because they encourage other governments to jail Americans as negotiating chips.
At a press conference in June, department spokesman Ned Price said, "Using unjustified detention as a bargaining chip constitutes a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and residing overseas."
Bout, a Russian arms trader, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 for agreeing to sell multimillion-dollar weapons to a Colombian terrorist group. Russia has long pushed for Bout's release.
A number of high-profile people and organizations, including members of the WNBA, Texas state representatives, and civil and human rights organizations, have called for Griner's release, bringing the situation to the attention of the entire country.
Customs officers at a Moscow area airport discovered two cannabis vape cartridges in Griner's luggage, leading to her detention. According to the Houston Chronicle, the WNBA star testified in a Russian courtroom earlier on Wednesday and alleged that she was not read her rights. According to the Chronicle, Griner admitted responsibility on Wednesday, but claimed that she had packaged the cannabis oil inadvertently. She had been suffering from pain and inflammation due to occupational accidents, therefore her doctor had prescribed cannabis oil as a treatment.
Griner, who is both black and homosexual, is living in a place where she is being persecuted for her sexual orientation because of Vladimir Putin's authority. U.S. attempts to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion have complicated Griner's detention even further.
