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    Paul Whelan credits Brittney Griner for helping spring him from Russian captivity

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    Retired US marine Paul Whelan says basketball champion Brittney Griner provided “great help” to him by advocating for his freedom from Russian captivity after she was released before he was.“Within days of her getting home, she was talking to people about how they could support me, and she had people making monetary donations, sending cards, sending letters, offering all sorts of support,” Whelan said in an interview being aired on CBS’s Face the Nation at 10.30am ET on Sunday.Whelan told the news program’s host, Margaret Brennan, that he became emotional when he saw Griner on television participating in the Paris Olympics upon his arrival at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews after a complex prison exchange between Russia and the US resulted in his release.“It was one of those incredible moments when you’re … finally connecting things,” Whelan remarked in a clip previewing his conversation with Brennan, which was billed as his first news media interview since Russia released him.Russia accused Whelan of being a spy and jailed him in December 2018 while he traveled for a friend’s wedding. Though the US dismissed the allegations as bogus, Russia convicted Whelan and – in June 2020 – sentenced him to 16 years in prison.The fates of Whelan and Griner became tied to each other in February 2022, when the collegiate, WNBA and Olympic champion basketballer was arrested in Russia after agents allegedly found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage as she traveled there to play during the American off-season. She later pleaded guilty to drug charges and received a nine-year prison sentence.However, in late 2022, the American government exchanged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout as well as drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko to get Griner and marine veteran Trevor Reed back to the US. The US said Russia refused to include Whelan in either deal.Whelan later said that the US had “basically signed a death warrant” for him by twice agreeing to prisoner swaps that omitted him.Griner subsequently shouldered an active role in rallying support for other Americans detained in foreign countries. She has collaborated with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign launched in 2022 by the families of American hostages and detained persons wrongfully held overseas. And she has also spoken multiple times with Joe Biden to ensure the president and others in important positions keep detainees in mind.In August, a deal among the US, Russia and five other countries resulted in Whelan being freed from Russian custody alongside Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had also been held on espionage charges that the American government deemed meritless.Griner hailed the releases of Whelan, Gershkovich and the others as “a great day”. When Whelan saw her on television after returning to the US, Griner had helped the American women’s basketball team defeat Belgium en route to what was her third consecutive Olympic gold medal with the group.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionWhelan said his experience as a Russian prisoner has left him battling post-traumatic stress disorder, although he has “put back on some of the weight” that he lost during his captivity.He said his Russian captors “from day one” told him “there would be a trade, a political solution to this situation”.Nonetheless, “as it dragged on, it did play with my mind”, Whelan said to CBS. “There was a psychological piece to this.” More

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      Joe Biden hails ‘absolute courage’ of detained journalist Evan Gershkovich

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      Joe Biden has praised the “absolute courage” of Evan Gershkovich, the US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges, and reiterated calls on Moscow for his immediate release.The US president said the Wall Street Journal reporter, who is the first correspondent since the cold war to be detained in Russia on spying charges, sought to “shed light on the darkness” of the country and said American efforts to get him home would not cease.Biden, speaking at an annual dinner for White House correspondents on Saturday night, directly addressed the parents of Gershkovich, who were in the room and were given standing ovations by the more than 2,000 attendees.“We all stand with you. Evan went to Russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from, years ago. Absolute courage … to the entire family, everyone in this hall stands with you. We’re working every day to secure his release,” said Biden, noting the journalist’s letter to his parents that said he was “not losing hope”.Some guests at the Washington Hilton function wore buttons with “Free Evan” printed on them. The US has previously declared Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained, signalling that it views the espionage charges against him as bogus and that he is being held as a hostage.This week Russia’s foreign ministry denied a request from the US for a consular visit to Gershkovich, saying it was rejected in retaliation for the US refusing to grant visas to Russian journalists planning to accompany the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on a trip to the UN. Gershkovich has been in custody since 29 March.Attendees to Saturday’s gala also included Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, who has not been heard from since disappearing at a checkpoint in Syria in 2012. US officials say they operate under the assumption that he is alive and are working to try to bring him home.“Journalism is not a crime,” said Biden. “Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every other American held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.“I promise, I am working like hell to bring them home.”The president also had warm words for Brittney Griner, who attended with her wife Cherelle. “I love this woman … this time last year we were praying for you, hoping you knew how hard all of us were fighting for your release. It’s great to have you home .. I can hardly wait to see you back on the court, kid.”The WNBA star endured a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges. Griner was arrested in February 2022 at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison. More

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      ‘I relied on hard work’: Brittney Griner on coping with Russian detention

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      Brittney Griner got emotional quickly.Speaking to reporters for the first time since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges, the WNBA star had to take a moment to compose herself after being asked about her resiliency through the ordeal.“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said Thursday from the lobby of the Footprint Center, home of her new team the Phoenix Mercury and the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. “Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”Griner’s first news conference drew more than 100 people, including Arizona governor Katie Hobbs, members of the Mercury organization and her wife, Cherelle.Griner was arrested in February 2022 at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison.She said her abilities as an athlete helped her cope. “I know this sounds so small but dying in practice and just hard workouts, you find a way to just grind it out, just put your head down and keep going and keep moving forward,” she said.“You can never stand still and that was my thing; just never be still, never get too focused on the now and looking forward to what’s to come.”After nearly 10 months of strained negotiations between Washington and Moscow, Griner was exchanged in the United Arab Emirates for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on 8 December.Griner kept a low profile following her return to the US while adjusting to life back at home, outside of appearances at the Super Bowl, the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open and an MLK Day event in Phoenix.But she said she never doubted she would be back playing professionally again.“I believe in me,” Griner said. “I believe in what I can do. I know if I put my mind to it I can achieve any goal.She added: “I’m not trying to sound big-headed, but I bet on me. I have all the resources here to help me get to that point where I can play, and it was no question to be back in the WNBA, back in Phoenix playing.”Griner also said her management team has been in touch with the family of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia who has become a symbol of attacks on the press in Russia.“No one should be in those conditions,” she said.She added: “You’re in foreign territory and you’re in unknown waters. So there’s a lot that we might know that they didn’t know so there’s been a lot of communication between both teams.”
      Associated Press contributed to this report More

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      Brittney Griner in Texas medical facility as political fallout over swap continues

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      Brittney Griner in Texas medical facility as political fallout over swap continuesBasketball star is being debriefed at San Antonio army facility as plight of other Americans held in Russia continues Brittney Griner, the American basketball star who has been released from almost 10 months of detention in Russia in a prisoner swap with the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, is undergoing physical and mental evaluation at a Texas army facility as part of her rehabilitation to the US.The two-time Olympic gold medalist is being debriefed at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. She arrived back in the US on Friday morning and was immediately taken for what was being described as “extensive health evaluations”.The national security council’s strategic communications coordinator, John Kirby, told This Week on ABC News on Sunday that early indications were that Griner was doing well. “She’s in very good spirits and in good health,” he said.As the WNBA and Olympic champion gradually re-enters US society, the political fallout over her high-profile prisoner exchange with Bout continued. So too did the ongoing plight of other Americans held by Russia not included in the Kremlin deal, notably the discharged marine Paul Whelan who has served almost four years of a 16-year sentence for alleged spying.Joe Biden’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, said that negotiations over Whelan were continuing. He told CNN’s State of the Union: “We have an ongoing open dialogue with the Russians and we have the commitment of the president, and my office certainly, to bring Paul Whelan home.”Carstens described speaking with Whelan in a Russian prison a day after the swap securing Griner’s release was announced and assured him that the US government was committed to bringing him home. He said he urged Whelan to “keep the faith – we’re coming to get you”.The White House has responded to criticism that they should have secured the release of both Griner and Whelan in exchange for such a prominent arms dealer by insisting that a two-for-one deal was never on the cards. Carstens said a specific proposal to get both individuals out had been made to the Russians but “it didn’t land anywhere”.He added: “It was clear that they were treating Paul very separately because of these sham espionage charges they levied against him.”The Biden administration also continues to come under fire from Republican critics and others for letting an infamous arms dealer go free. Bout, nicknamed the “merchant of death”, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to kill Americans and for selling weapons to FARC insurgents in Colombia.The Democratic senator from New Jersey and chair of the foreign relations committee, Bob Menendez, has denounced Bout’s release as “deeply disturbing”. He said it would embolden dictators to take hostages.“We must stop inviting dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans overseas as bargaining chips,” he said.Top Republicans have been using similar arguments to attack Biden. The former secretary of state under Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, told Fox News Sunday that Vladimir Putin and other hostile regimes including Iran would be encouraged.“Trade bad guys for celebrities creates the wrong incentives for the bad guys,” he said.In his CNN interview, Carstens acknowledged that the decision to cut a deal with Russia had been difficult. “It’s hard to keep these dictators and dictatorial governments from taking Americans and trying to use them as bargaining chips,” he said, adding that Biden had introduced new sanctions against people taking hostages abroad that he promised would be rolled out soon.Carstens also gave new details of how he had met Griner as part of the prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi and then escorted her back to the US. On the 18-hour flight, she had spent about 12 hours just talking, including about her Russian ordeal.“I was left with the impression this is an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person – a patriotic person,” the envoy said.Griner was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison after she was arrested at an airport in Russia and accused of carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil in them. The basketball star said she had made a mistake in packing the canisters and presented evidence that she had been prescribed the cannabis as a pain treatment.Bout told RT television, the Russian state-run network, that he had exchanged words with Griner on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi. “I wished her good luck, she even extended her hand,” he said, according to a report in the Washington Post.Bout was asked by RT whether Griner had engaged with him. “Yes she did, and I felt she was very positive towards me,” he said.The claim cannot be independently verified. Griner has not commented, and edited video footage released by Russian state media appears to have been cut at precisely the moment that any direct encounter between the two individuals would have taken place.TopicsBrittney GrinerUS politicsRussiaEuropenewsReuse this content More

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      Biden faced internal opposition to Brittney Griner swap, reports say

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      Biden faced internal opposition to Brittney Griner swap, reports sayDepartment of Justice viewed deal to exchange basketball star for Russian arms dealer as a mistake Joe Biden has faced pressure from within his own administration, as well as his political opponents, in securing the release of basketball player Brittney Griner from Russia, according to reports.On Thursday, Biden hailed the “intense and painstaking negotiations” that led to the release of Griner in a prisoner swap deal with the arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possession of a small amount of cannabis oil, while Bout, nicknamed ‘the merchant of death’, was serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison for fueling conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.Was the Viktor Bout exchange deal really a win for Moscow?Read moreThe large discrepancy between these two offenses led the US Department of Justice to believe the prisoner swap was a mistake, according to a report in the Washington Post. One department official told the Post that “trading a notorious international arms dealer for a basketball player is madness”.Critics of the tense political and diplomatic trade-off in the prisoner swap have highlighted the case of Paul Whelan, a US marine veteran who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges. Biden said that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years” and blamed Russia for treating his case differently to Griner’s for “totally illegitimate reasons”.Russia refused to release Whelan along with Griner unless one of its former colonels and alleged spy, Vadim Krasikov, was also released from custody in Germany, according to CNN. Germany was unwilling to do this and the US’s offer of other potential Russian prisoners was rebuffed by Moscow, the report states.These complex equations between two countries currently at odds over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has anguished Whelan’s family, who say they fear the conditions may not be right for him to return to the US for several years. David Whelan, his brother, did say, however, that the Biden administration made the right decision to secure Griner’s release.The situation has been used by Republican leaders and rightwing media to attack Biden, with Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, warning that Bout will soon return to arms dealing.“He was convicted of conspiring to kill American law enforcement,” McCarthy said. “His release is a gift to Vladimir Putin and a threat to American lives. Leaving Paul Whelan behind for this is unconscionable.”TopicsBrittney GrinerJoe BidenUS politicsRussianewsReuse this content More

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      Griner release is cause for relief but Viktor Bout transfer tough to stomach

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      AnalysisGriner release is cause for relief but Viktor Bout transfer tough to stomachDavid Smith in WashingtonCritics label Biden’s decision to release Russian arms dealer ‘deeply disturbing’ – even if Brittney Griner’s freedom is excellent news Last month, the Russian parliament mounted an unusual art exhibition with subjects ranging from the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to a sentimental image of a kitten. They had been produced in prison by Viktor Bout, serving 25 years in America.Brittney Griner freed from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor BoutRead moreHistory has shown that a sideline as an amateur artist is not much guarantee of moral integrity. Bout, known as “the merchant of death”, was the world’s most notorious arms dealer, selling weapons to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America.That, for many, was what made his release on Thursday in a prisoner swap for US basketball star Brittney Griner difficult to stomach. Joe Biden has done a deal with the devil. But he may also have saved a woman’s life. As the president found in Afghanistan, the big decisions are seldom morally clearcut.On the credit side, Griner’s release is spectacularly good news. She was arrested in February after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, her nine-year prison sentence was wildly disproportionate. Her transfer to a penal colony, with its promise of sexism, racism and homophobia in medieval conditions, raised fears for her survival.But on the debit side, despite Vladimir Putin’s effort to portray Bout as painter and classical music lover with a sensitive soul, the arms dealer has blood on his hands. He armed militias in Sierra Leone, the Liberian war criminal Charles Taylor and the Taliban in Afghanistan. His life helped inspire the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage.Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, captured the ambivalence in a statement on Thursday. The Democrat welcomed Griner’s release as a “moment of profound relief” but warned that “releasing Bout back into the world is a deeply disturbing decision”.He added: “We must stop inviting dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans overseas as bargaining chips, and we must try do better at encouraging American citizens against traveling to places like Russia where they are primary targets for this type of unlawful detention.”Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, also expressed relief but warned that “trading Viktor Bout – a dangerous convicted arms dealer who was in prison for conspiring to kill Americans – will only embolden Vladimir Putin to continue his evil practice of taking innocent Americans hostage for use as political pawns”.Predictably, there was a less measured response from Donald Trump’s wing of the Republican party. Some cried foul over the fact that while Griner was coming home, the former US marine Paul Whelan, convicted in 2020 of spying, will remain in a penal colony.Cory Mills, an Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran and congressman-elect from Florida, tweeted: “Biden clearly showed his priority is celebrities over veterans. I guess Brittany’s basketball career in WNBA was more important than Paul Whelan’s service to our nation as a marine.”Family of US man held in Russia lament ‘catastrophe for Paul’ after Griner swapRead moreIn a phone interview from his penal colony, Whelan told CNN he was glad Griner had been released but “greatly disappointed” that the Biden administration has not done more to secure his own freedom. According to the White House, Russia is treating Whelan’s case differently because of his espionage conviction and was not willing to include him in the deal.Not even Republicans, however, were accusing Biden of being “soft on Russia”, given his success in rallying the west against Putin in Ukraine – a vivid contrast from Trump’s embrace of the autocrat. The war has been unusual in its lack of ambiguity between right and wrong.After meeting Griner’s wife, Cherelle, in the Oval Office, it was clear Biden had no doubt he had done the right thing despite the understandable ethical qualms.“It’s my job as president of the United States to make the hard calls,” he said. “And I’m proud that, today, we have made one more family whole again.”TopicsJoe BidenUS foreign policyUS politicsRussiaViktor BoutBrittney GrineranalysisReuse this content More