• After Brittney Griner was released from Russian prison on Thursday, her family released a statement.
• The 32-year-old two-time Olympic basketball champion was detained on February 17.
• After landing in Moscow from New York City on suspicion of having cannabis oil in her luggage.

Brittney Griner case following the verdict, the Biden administration made a prisoner swap offer to Russia on July 27 in order to free Griner and a U.S. citizen named Paul Whelan. Marine detained since 2018 on suspicion of spying.

Brittney Griner’s Detention in Russia: A Timeline
Viktor Bout, a Russian prisoner in the US serving a 25-year term after being found guilty of arms trafficking, was to be exchanged for the Americans as part of the discussions.

Following the deal’s announcement, Griner’s family congratulated the Biden administration and offered support to Whelan’s family while Whelan stayed in Russia.

With particular thanks to Governor Richardson and Mickey Bergman of the Richardson Center for their work and for keeping in touch with us, the statement reads, “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to President Biden and his administration for the tireless work they did to bring Brittney home.

“We sincerely thank you all for the kind words, thoughts and prayers – including Paul and the Whelan family who have been generous with their support for Brittney and our family during what we know is a heartbreaking time. We pray for Paul and for the swift and safe return of all wrongfully-detained Americans,” the statement reads, asking for privacy as the family “embark on this road to healing.”

On Thursday morning, President Joe Biden announced Griner’s release and said that the WNBA star was anticipated to be in the country within the following day.

“Moments ago, standing together with her wife Cherelle in the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittney Griner. She’s safe, she’s on a plane, and she’s on her way home after months of being unjustly jailed in Russia, held under awful circumstances,” he said during his speech from the White House.

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations, and I want to thank all the hardworking public servants across my administration who worked tirelessly to secure her release,” he said, speaking about the almost one-year-long journey.

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In December 2018, Russian police apprehended Paul Whelan in a Moscow hotel....