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Post by Admin on Jul 7, 2022 18:34:24 GMT
The White House initially tried to downplay the arrest, fearing that drawing attention to Griner’s plight would only make her more valuable in the Kremlin’s eyes. But as her trial began in Moscow last week on charges of cannabis possession and trafficking, her American supporters have grown more vociferous in their frustration, challenging the White House to do more to bring her home. For its part, the White House insists it is doing everything it can. “This is an issue that is a priority for this president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. “The same focus that we did and put behind bringing Trevor Reed home, we’re going to do the same with Brittney Griner and others.” On Monday, Biden received a handwritten letter from Griner. “I'm terrified I might be here forever," she wrote to the president. The 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury center had been traveling to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she had done during the WNBA off-season since 2016. The team is owned by Andrei Kozitsyn, a mining magnate with close ties to the Kremlin. The letter marked a renewed effort by Griner’s family and supporters to publicize her plight, which could include a prolonged prison sentence. “I will not be quiet anymore,” Griner's wife, Cherelle, told CBS. “They're not moving, they're not doing anything,” she said of efforts by the Biden administration. “So my wife is struggling, and we have to help her."
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Post by Admin on Jul 7, 2022 20:05:32 GMT
Russian news agencies say jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug possession and smuggling charges during her trial in Moscow. The reports quoted Griner as pleading guilty to the charges at Thursday’s court hearing. They said that speaking through an interpreter, Griner said she had acted unintentionally because she was packing in haste. Griner was detained in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters with cannabis oil allegedly were found in her luggage. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs.
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2022 15:47:28 GMT
In addition to arming the worst sectors of humanity, Bout made a fortune flying for the U.S. military in Iraq during the war there. Ultimately, he was arrested while attempting to sell weapons to undercover Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing as buyers for Colombia’s notorious FARC guerrillas. In the meeting before his arrest, Bout offered an array of sophisticated weapons, helpfully adding they could be used to kill U.S. military advisers in Colombia.
Griner, in contrast, was in Russia to play professional basketball just before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Having proven herself to be one of the best players of all time, the ill-fated timing of her trip transformed her into a terrified young woman illegally detained in brutal conditions for what at best would be a minor misdemeanor. And a pawn that the Russians immediately recognized the value of. (Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to carrying cannabis oil, but her ultimate fate remains unclear.)
So why even consider the potential offer? First, Bout is a spent force who will be out of jail in a few years anyway. His business depended on personal relationships and trust among the parties. After being out of the business for more than a decade, Bout has neither of those left in the shadowy world in which he once operated. Second, Bout needed access to a global network stretching from Afghanistan to Europe, Africa and South America. That network has morphed through several generations of new actors, markets and gatekeepers. Bout has no currency in that world now.
Finally, Bout depended in the early years on the gross negligence of the former Soviet states to allow him to simply fly out aircraft and weapons in a spree of de facto privatization of one of the world’s most advanced arsenals. In his later years, he was reined in by the Russian state under Putin, no longer able to freelance at will and without unfettered access to massive caches of weapons. It is unlikely he would have any freedom of movement in the weapons trade unless he was in the direct service of the Russian intelligence services, and now he is burned beyond the ability to be useful in any significant capacity.
Many of those who carried out the operation to end Bout’s ability to enable crimes against humanity will not agree with me. The hunt for Bout was long and arduous, and the operation that led to his arrest was the stuff of the best spy thrillers. The diplomatic and Department of Justice efforts to get Bout to the U.S. to stand trial were a testament to how a whole of government approach can work when done well. And the trial showed the world at least a small piece of who Bout is and the monstrous nature of his crimes.
There should be no mercy for Bout and only his victims could offer forgiveness. But there is now a chance for an act of compassion for an innocent life; his low-risk release would be a fitting finale for someone who has caused so much harm. Bout has already lost what he most valued — his ability to move freely across the globe and act with impunity as an agent of chaos in the service of his Russian handlers and his own interests. His freedom could not restore that, and he will be forever known as the Merchant of Death, a stain he will never be able to remove.
If Griner regains her freedom, she regains the family fighting for her release, a spouse working tirelessly on her behalf, and, I hope, her rightful place among the basketball pantheon of great players. It may not be perfect justice, but it’s a closer version of it than having an innocent person wrongfully imprisoned simply to confine a guilty person who can no longer inflict much more damage.
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Post by Admin on Jul 14, 2022 1:40:25 GMT
Young Woman Held in Russia Speaks Out For First Time As Brittney Griner’s Trial Continues 1,574 views Jul 14, 2022 As WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in Russian detention, Naama Issachar – whose story is eerily similar – is speaking out. In 2019, she had a layover in Moscow and was pulled from the boarding line. Russian authorities searched her backpack and found a third of an ounce of cannabis. She was held for 10 months in a Russian jail. NBC News’ Kate Snow has our exclusive interview to share her story.
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Post by Admin on Jul 29, 2022 5:37:10 GMT
Russia said Thursday that no deal has been reached on any prisoner exchange with the US a day after reports emerged that Washington had proposed sending back notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “so far there are no agreements in this area,” according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova indicated that President Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had discussed a swap prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. “The issue of the mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens in detention on the territory of the two countries was at one time discussed by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” she said. “They gave instructions to the relevant authorized structures to carry out negotiations. These are being conducted by the competent departments. A concrete result has not yet been achieved.”
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