With Brittney Griner coming back to the US, the Americans have been delighted by the news, after Moscow send home their Olympic Gold Medallist after she spend 10 months behind bars in Russia on drug Charges. On the other hand, US Marine Paul Whelan will be left disappointed after President Joe Biden decided to bring back just one of them after news broke out that the US had the option to bring home either one.
With the release of Brittney Griner on Thursday, there has been a mixed reception towards the decision made by the US president, which saw him opt for the 8x WNBA All-Star, rather than the former US Marine.
NBC had a bombshell report that Russia offered America Brittney Griner OR Paul Whelan, citing a senior government official. It would be Biden’s choice which one to save.
The report was later edited without explanation to mirror Biden’s explanation that only Griner was offered. pic.twitter.com/5BvGeyP0RU
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) December 9, 2022
However, the US government has made it imperative to address the fact that Whelan is still in detention and will not give up on making efforts on bringing back their marine. President Biden also said, “While we have not yet succeeded in securing [Whelan’s] release, we are not giving up. We will never give up. We remain in close touch with [his] family, the Whelan family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them today.”
The US marine was arrested in 2018 by the Russians and has been in prison ever since. Whelan expressed his feelings after the facts came to light, that even after the American government put in immense proposals, they failed in securing his return. He spoke with CNN where he said, “I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the fourth anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred.”
Who did the US trade for Brittney Griner?
With Griner coming home, The United States had to send Viktor Bout, also known as ‘The Merchant of Death. Bout was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the US in 2010 after he was caught in a sting operation held by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Bout’s claims were not entertained by the jury in New York and were sentenced to serve 25 years in prison.
Viktor was born in Russia and made a career in air transport in the 1990s after the collapse of the USSR. Bout made his business by making use of the planes left by the military. He used them to deliver goods. He is suspected to have been secretly arming both the Government and the warlords in Angola’s civil war.
Video of the Brittany Griner swap for Viktor Bout. pic.twitter.com/UUdoulPPXh
— Code RED (@CodeRED_tv) December 8, 2022
The Russian government supported their citizen through the legal proceedings against him, to secure his return to the motherland. A movie was released in 2005 which was based on the life of Bout, where he has been falsely accused and makes heroes return to the country. After spending 12 years in American prison he has thus secured a return back.
