Brittney Griner endured “hell” during her detention in Russia, but the basketball player is returning home in “good spirits”. This was stated by US President Joe Biden in a statement from the White House, following the news of the release of Griner, exchanged for the Russian ‘merchant of death’ Viktor Bout. “After months of unjust detention in Russia, under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones – and she should have been there from the start,” said the president, according to whom “these last few months have been hell for Brittney”.
But “I am happy to say that she is in a good mood. She is relieved to finally go home”, concluded the president, who described the negotiations for the release of the basketball player, who had been sentenced to nine years in prison, as “intense” , to be served in a penal colony, on a charge of possession of narcotic substances.