The Joe Biden administration, after many months of deliberation, decided last August to do something not too common: carry out a prisoner exchange. This is what he proposed to Russia to free the Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. They offered to return to the eastern power Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Department of Justice tried to oppose this exchange because it believes that may incite the use of Americans as hostages. However, they could not against the support of the president himself, so the United States managed to make the offer to Russia. Some even thought that the Republicans would put up some sort of resistance, but the response was also surprisingly positive.
Viktor Bout, nicknamed the ‘merchant of death’ by its whistleblowers, it has even inspired a Hollywood movie; ‘The Notorious Mr. Bout’. He’s a heavyweight the crimes for which he is behind bars are many: conspiracy to assassinate Americans, acquisition and export of anti-aircraft missiles, and supplying materials to terrorist organizations.
He was detained by US authorities in 2008 in Thailand, in an operation in which US agents posed as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan when he was arrested, said that this had “been the number one enemy of international arms trafficking for many years, waging some of the most violent conflicts around the world.” He has been accused of arming the FARC, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. Yet the Russian Bout continues to claim his innocence.
prisoner exchanges
The idea of the prisoner exchange gained popularity after Trevor Reed was recovered; in April they managed to exchange the ex-marine for another Russian prisoner. Trevor Reed is an ex-marine who was convicted and spent two years in a Russian prison, until he was exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko. The latter sentenced to 20 years in prison in United States.
The Kremlin has wanted the recovery of its citizen since the sentence, claiming it as “unfounded and biased.” However, so far The United States had refused to use it as its trading token.. But despite the fact that in Russia they have been asking for it for a long time, now that the cards are put on the table, they still have not made any decision on the matter.
In the case of basketball player Britney Griner, we would have to wait for his trial to finish, since it just started in July. The star WNBA player was detained at the Moscow airport when a police dog detected cannabis oil in her suitcase. In Russia, unlike in several states of the North American country, this drug is penalized. That is why Griner is faced with the possibility of being prisoner from five to ten years if the United States does not secure his release.
News of his arrest hit the country hard, as Griner is a powerhouse on the court. A player for the Phoenix Mercury and UMMC Ekaterinburg, she represents the country in the Olympics where she has won two gold medals —in 2012 and 2016. She is also a WNBA award-winning player: twice as a the best defender and in another two as top scorer.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
