9th December, 2022
WNBA star, Brittney Griner has landed in the United States after her release from Russian detention on Thursday in a prison swap.
The prison swap saw convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout released by the US.
The Basketball star arrived US early Friday. She arrived at San Antonio’s Kelly Field, in Texas, a day after she was released from Russian detention.
Griner spent 10 months behind bars in Russia before being released in a high-profile prisoner swap.
In February, authorities in a Moscow-area airport found Griner with less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage.
She was later convicted of drug smuggling charges and sentenced to nine years in prison. In November, she was transferred to a penal colony to serve out her sentence.
The CNN quoted John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, as saying that Griner’s first stop back on US soil would likely be at a medical treatment facility.
Griner could also to take part in a Department of Defense Program known as PISA (Post Isolation Support Activities) to help her acclimate back to normal life.
The network reports that Americans detained abroad, like Marine Corps veteran Trevor Reed and the seven Americans who returned from Venezuela in October, also participated in PISA.