US Basketball Star Griner Exchanged for Russian Arms Dealer
2022-12-09
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1The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from prison.
2She had been held in Russia for almost 10 months.
3The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Griner was on an airplane back to the U.S. She was arrested in February.
4Russian officials said they found two small containers of marijuana oil in her bags as she arrived at the airport in Moscow.
5She pleaded guilty to the charge in July and then faced trial.
6Griner said she mistakenly packed the objects in a rush to get to the airport.
7In August, she was sentenced to a prison term of nine years.
8After months of negotiations between Russian and American officials, Griner was released in a prisoner swap.
9Russian weapons seller Viktor Bout is being sent home. Bout was serving a sentence of 25 years.
10American officials said they had been hoping to also gain the release of businessman Paul Whelan.
11He was charged with spying in December 2018 and given a 16-year sentence in 2020.
12In announcing the release of Griner, Biden spoke about Whelan.
13He said: "we've not forgotten about Paul Whelan...We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul's release."
14Whelan's brother, David, said the U.S. made the right choice to bring Griner home instead of waiting for a trade "that wasn't going to happen."
15Officials said the prisoner exchange happened in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
16Griner was arrested on February 17, but the news did not come out until March.
17Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
18Griner traveled to Russia to play basketball for her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg.
19The fact that Griner, one of the top players in the American basketball league for women - the WNBA - had to play games in Russia had many people asking why the league does not pay its players more.
20She is also married to a woman, which made many pay attention to how Russia treats Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer people.
21Lawyers said the nine-year prison term was too much for the offense of bringing a small amount of marijuana oil into Russia.
22At her sentencing, Griner said she was sorry, and she hoped the ruling "does not end my life."
23The negotiations related to Griner, however, led to the highest-level communication between Russia and the U.S. in over five months.
24U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about Griner's case.
25I'm Dan Friedell.
1The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from prison. She had been held in Russia for almost 10 months. 2The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Griner was on an airplane back to the U.S. She was arrested in February. 3Russian officials said they found two small containers of marijuana oil in her bags as she arrived at the airport in Moscow. 4She pleaded guilty to the charge in July and then faced trial. Griner said she mistakenly packed the objects in a rush to get to the airport. In August, she was sentenced to a prison term of nine years. 5After months of negotiations between Russian and American officials, Griner was released in a prisoner swap. Russian weapons seller Viktor Bout is being sent home. Bout was serving a sentence of 25 years. 6American officials said they had been hoping to also gain the release of businessman Paul Whelan. He was charged with spying in December 2018 and given a 16-year sentence in 2020. 7In announcing the release of Griner, Biden spoke about Whelan. He said: "we've not forgotten about Paul Whelan...We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul's release." 8Whelan's brother, David, said the U.S. made the right choice to bring Griner home instead of waiting for a trade "that wasn't going to happen." 9Officials said the prisoner exchange happened in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. 10Griner was arrested on February 17, but the news did not come out until March. Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. 11Griner traveled to Russia to play basketball for her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg. The fact that Griner, one of the top players in the American basketball league for women - the WNBA - had to play games in Russia had many people asking why the league does not pay its players more. 12She is also married to a woman, which made many pay attention to how Russia treats Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer people. 13Lawyers said the nine-year prison term was too much for the offense of bringing a small amount of marijuana oil into Russia. At her sentencing, Griner said she was sorry, and she hoped the ruling "does not end my life." 14The negotiations related to Griner, however, led to the highest-level communication between Russia and the U.S. in over five months. 15U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about Griner's case. 16I'm Dan Friedell. 17Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 18_________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20rush-n. a situation in which someone is in a hurry and not thinking about what they are doing 21swap -n. an exchange 22good faith -n. (idiom) dealing with someone honestly in the correct way 23_________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. Do you think Griner will be able to resume her basketball career? 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.