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Following her merchandise from Russian custody, Brittany Griner expressed her gratitude for being freed aft spending 294 days successful detainment: "The past 10 months person been a conflict astatine each turn."
WNBA Star Brittney Griner FREED From Russian Custody successful Prisoner Swap
Brittney Griner is thankful to beryllium home.
The WBNA star spoke retired a small much than a week aft she was released from Russian custody connected Dec. 8, sharing her alleviation for being backmost successful the United States.
"It feels truthful bully to beryllium home," she wrote alongside photos of herself stepping disconnected a level shared to Instagram Dec. 16. "The past 10 months person been a conflict astatine each turn. I dug heavy to support my religion and it was the emotion from truthful galore of you that helped support maine going. From the bottommost of my heart, convey you to everyone for your help."
Brittney besides went to convey those who assisted successful getting her released, but besides concluded her connection with her outlook connected the future.
"I besides privation to marque 1 happening precise clear: I mean to play hoops for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season," she continued. "And successful doing so, I look guardant to being capable to accidental ‘thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for maine successful idiosyncratic soon."
Her release comes astir a twelvemonth after her February 2021 arrest at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport for allegedly possessing vape cartridges that contained cannabis lipid successful her luggage.
Brittney was found blameworthy connected cause charges by a Russian tribunal in August and was sentenced to nine years successful prison. In November, 4 months aft the verdict, she was transferred to a penal colony successful Russia's Mordovia region.
On Dec. 8, Brittney was released arsenic portion of a prisoner swap that saw the U.S. instrumentality Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who was 11 years into a 25-year sentence, backmost to Russia.
Shortly pursuing the exchange, Brittney's woman Cherelle Griner said she was "overwhelmed with emotions" successful a connection given from the White House.
"Over the past 9 months you each person been truthful privy to 1 of the darkest moments of my life," she said, earlier thanking the "many hands involved" successful securing Brittney's release, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the National Security Council.
Noting that "this enactment is not casual and it has not been," Cherelle besides acknowledged the "many different families who are not whole" arsenic Americans specified arsenic businessman Paul Whelan, who has been detained successful Russia since 2018, stay successful custody.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
"B.G. is not present to accidental this," Cherelle continued. "But I volition gladly talk connected her behalf to accidental B.G. and I volition stay committed to the enactment of getting each American home, including Paul, whose household is successful our hearts contiguous arsenic we observe B.G. being home."
She added, "We bash recognize that determination are inactive radical retired present who are enduring what I endure the past 9 months of missing tremendously their loved ones. So, convey you everybody to their enactment and contiguous is simply a blessed time for maine and my family, but I'm going to grin close now."
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