US basketball player Brittney Griner convicted in Russia for drug smuggling swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout

Brittney Griner, US basketball champion who was sentenced in Russia in a drug smuggling case has been swapped for Russian national Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer, CBS reports. The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the swap.

“Today, the swap of Russian national Bout for US citizen Griner has been completed in the Abu Dhabi airport,” RIA Novosti reports, citing the Foreign Ministry. Interfax notes that Bout has been released by the US and is on the plane to Moscow.

In mid-November, Griner’s defence team said that the woman was held in a prison in Russia’s Mordovia, she was transferred there on 4 November.

Earlier, Moscow Regional Court upheld Griner’s sentence. At the same time, the court recalculated the time she is supposed to serve in prison, taking into account her detention. The US basketball player will now spend around 8 years behind bars.

On 4 August, Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a medium-security prison. She was also slapped with a one-million-ruble fine (€16,250). The state prosecution argued that the evidence found proved she was guilty.

The basketball player was detained in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on 17 February. Vape pods containing hash oil are believed to have been found in her luggage. Griner pled guilty during a court hearing on 7 July.

Reporters earlier revealed that the White House communicated a proposal to the Kremlin to swap Griner and Paul Whelan (found guilty of espionage against Russia) for Russian national Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer serving time in a US prison.