It has just been announced that US basketballer Brittney Griner has been freed in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia.
Approved by President Joe Biden, the swap saw the 32-year-old released from prison after she was originally arrested in Moscow airport back in February for possessing cannabis oil. Griner was returning to Russia to finish her overseas season there when the detention took place.
In order to secure her release, the US swapped notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout after holding him for 12 years.
Bout was arrested in 2008 after a long and elaborate mission by US authorities after becoming one of the world's most wanted men. As per BBC News, "he was extradited two years later and has spent the past 12 years languishing in an American jail for conspiring to support terrorists and kill Americans."
According to ESPN, the United States had been working hard to try to negotiate for Griner's freedom.
Her fellow teammates as well as other famous athletes have been campaigning for her throughout the year, with basketball star, Stephen Curry giving public support to the WNBA star on her 32nd birthday saying: "We hope that she comes home soon, and that everybody's doing their part to get her home."
President Joe Biden confirmed that he had spoken to Griner following her release, telling his followers: "Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home."
Griner had been detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport in February after officials found she was carrying vaporizer cartridges allegedly containing hash oil after she had been prescribed medicinal cannabis in Arizona, where it is legal. The substance is however illegal in Russia.
The WNBA athlete is a two-time Olympic gold medalist but has spent the past nine months behind bars after a Russian court rejected an appeal against her nine-year jail sentence.
Griner's lawyer Alexander Boykov had opened up to People magazine in October about Griner's life behind bars at the Moscow Legal Center.
Boykov revealed that the WNBA star has very little freedom, saying: "They go to sleep around 10:00 PM, and that's when the lights turn off and the television's turned off," adding that inmates are "not allowed to sleep" outside of the prison's allotted hours.
Day-to-day activities would include "watching television, they prepare themselves food, they read, and that's basically it," however, the athlete was not able to exercise and train as much as she would want to behind bars.
Boykov revealed: "There's no gym, no runway, no basketball court," adding that Griner "goes for a walk" and "does some exercises" - but what she was allowed to do in the prison was extremely limited.
