United States presses Russia to release detained basketball player

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• “Griner, 31, said in court that she committed a “honest mistake” 
• According to rumours, Washington is proposing a prisoner exchange

United States has urged Russia to approve a proposal to free basketball star Brittney Griner, who is now serving a nine-year sentence in a Russian prison.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist was found guilty of drug possession and smuggling after admitting to carrying cannabis oil.

According to White House national security spokesman John Kirby, the U.S. proposal is “real,” but no details are revealed.

According to media rumours, Washington has proposed a prisoner swap involving a Russian weapons smuggler.

In the United States, Viktor Bout, sometimes known as the “merchant of death,” is serving a 25-year prison sentence.

According to rumours, he might be exchanged for Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

Whelan, who has American, British, Canadian, and Irish passports, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in jail in Russia in 2020.

Mr. Kirby told reporters that the two were wrongfully imprisoned and should be freed.

Mr. Kirby, in response to the US proposal, stated: “We insist that they implement it. They ought to have accepted it when we first presented it weeks ago.”

Russia wants to include convicted killer Vadim Krasikov, who is now incarcerated in Germany, in the proposed swap.

When queried about this possibility, Mr. Kirby said, “I don’t think we can call it a counteroffer.”

Griner, 31, said in court that she did not want to break the law and made a “honest mistake.”

In February, cannabis oil vape cartridges were discovered in her baggage at a Moscow airport and she was apprehended. She travelled to Russia over the offseason to play club basketball.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, her plight became a focal point of US-Russian diplomatic relations.

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