On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Moscow and Washington had completed the procedure for exchanging Russian Viktor Bout for American basketball player Brittney Griner. The exchange took place at Abu Dhabi airport.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Moscow had been negotiating with Washington for a long time to release Viktor Bout. The United States categorically refused to engage in dialogue on the inclusion of a Russian in the exchange scheme. Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work to rescue Bout and was able to negotiate with Washington.
Viktor Bout was arrested in Thailand at the request of the United States in 2008 as a result of a provocative operation by American intelligence services. He was taken to the States with gross violations of the law, and in 2012 he was found guilty of allegedly conspiring to kill US citizens and materially support terrorism, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Russian himself did not agree with all the accusations.
31-year-old American Brittney Griner, who played for the Yekaterinburg UMMC, was detained at Sheremetyevo while trying to smuggle hash oil in February 2022. The basketball player returned to Russia from New York. When passing through the green corridor, it turned out that she had vapes with cannabis oil in her hand luggage.
During the trial, Greiner fully admitted her guilt. According to her, she packed her suitcase in a hurry and did not want to bring drugs into Russia. The basketball player also stated that she had no intent to commit a crime. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
