American Brittney Griner was released on Thursday after nine long months of detention in Russia, an event calmly celebrated by the US president.
The professional basketball player was sentenced last August by the Russian courts to nine years in prison for cannabis trafficking: a nightmare born of her arrest at a Moscow airport in possession of vape cartridges containing oil from this plant. Consumption allowed by therapeutic prescription and caused by chronic pain.
Joe Biden immediately spoke on television this Wednesday, at the end of this torturous and painful legal soap opera. Stressing that he had “waited” for this release for a long time, that his administration had “fought for his release”, he launched: “Welcome home Brittney.”
“She needs her privacy to be respected”
The US president did not elaborate on the conditions of the athlete’s release from prison -which we know involves an exchange with the arms dealer Viktor Bout-, but he welcomed the help provided by an ally of his country: “I also want to thank the United Arab Emirates for helping us facilitate Brittney’s release. This is where she landed.” “It was about freeing Brittney when we had the chance,” he added.
Joe Biden went further in paying tribute to Brittney Griner, an “incomparable athlete”, who although “mistreated” “resisted very strongly during her trial.”
“She represents the best of America,” he added. If the head of state said she was “happy with her release” from her, that the ex-convict is “well” and “is in a good state of mind”, she acknowledged that she will need time to overcome this “trauma”. . “She needs her privacy now,” she said.
Returning to Brittney Griner’s courage in recent weeks, he remarked: “She only asked not to forget her and bring her home. We don’t forget it.”
While Joe Biden hoped to “think of the family” of Brittney Griner, the latter’s wife succeeded him at the microphone. Cherelle Griner said that she was “overwhelmed with emotion.”
The Whelan Affair
But Brittney Griner was not the only American prisoner in Russian jails. However, she returns to the United States alone. Former soldier Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 for espionage, remains behind bars.
“Unfortunately, Moscow is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s, and while we failed to secure Paul’s release, we will never give up,” Biden said.
He also promised: “I guarantee that we will continue working for his release.” “I ask the Russians to make sure they treat him well,” he asked, before making a promise to his people: “Allowing Americans to find their families is one of my government’s priorities.”
Likewise, Joe Biden issued a final recommendation for the attention of his fellow citizens: “I ask all Americans to take precautions and follow the instructions of the Department of State abroad.”
Source: BFM TV
