Video reveals Griner strolling previous Bout in prisoner swap

New footage launched by Russian state media confirmed WNBA star Brittney Griner strolling previous Russian arms vendor Viktor Bout throughout Thursday’s prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi, The Washington Submit reported.

Griner was accompanied by three males in fits as she approached Bout and an American man on the tarmac within the United Arab Emirates, in line with the Submit. One of many males accompanying Griner shook arms with and hugged Bout as the 2 teams met, the edited video confirmed.

The WNBA star was launched on Thursday, after practically 10 months in Russian detention. She was first arrested in a Moscow airport in February for carrying vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her baggage.

Griner was sentenced to 9 years in jail in August and moved to a Russian penal colony in early November.

Celebration over Griner’s launch on Thursday was dampened by the Biden administration’s failure to safe the discharge of fellow American detainee Paul Whelan. Whelan, a former U.S. marine, was arrested on espionage costs in 2018 and later sentenced to 16 years in jail.

“This was not a scenario the place we had a selection of which American to convey residence,” a senior administration official mentioned on Thursday. “It was a selection between bringing residence one specific American, Brittney Griner, or bringing residence none.”