WNBA participant Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with unlawful possession of hashish, holds an image of her workforce as she stands inside a defendants’ cage earlier than a courtroom listening to in Khimki, exterior Moscow, on Aug. 4.

Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/AFP through Getty Images

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Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/AFP through Getty Images

WNBA participant Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with unlawful possession of hashish, holds an image of her workforce as she stands inside a defendants’ cage earlier than a courtroom listening to in Khimki, exterior Moscow, on Aug. 4.

Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/AFP through Getty Images

President Biden says WNBA star Brittney Griner has been free of a Russian jail.

Standing alongside facet Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, on the White House, Biden mentioned it was a day that “we worked for a long time. “

“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable conditions,” Biden mentioned from the Roosevelt Room.

Biden spoke with Griner from the Oval workplace simply earlier than making the announcement. He mentioned she was in good spirits, however was experiencing “trauma” and would want time to heal.

“Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along,” Biden mentioned.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the Thursday in a press launch that Griner was swapped on the Abu Dhabi airport for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

“As a result of intense efforts, we managed to agree with the American side on organization of an exchange of Bout for Griner,” the overseas ministry mentioned in an announcement. “The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland.”

The alternate didn’t embody retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan who stays imprisoned in Russia, on espionage costs that the U.S. says are false.

“While we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up,” Biden mentioned Thursday. “We will never give up.”

Cherelle Griner mentioned she was overwhelmed by feelings, expressing gratitude to Biden, Vice President Harris, and different members of the administration concerned in securing her spouse’s launch. She thanked the WNBA, Griner’s agent, and others.

“BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul” she mentioned.

Griner’s detention had been a prime precedence for Biden and his administration. In July, she despatched him a handwritten letter, saying “I’m terrified I might be here forever.” The president was below growing strain to safe Griner’s launch. He mentioned final month that he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin could be extra prepared to debate a prisoner alternate after the U.S. midterm elections had been over.

Griner, who performs for the Phoenix Mercury, is a seven-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the primary overtly homosexual athlete signed to an endorsement contract by Nike. She additionally played for Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball workforce in the course of the WNBA’s offseason.

She was sentenced final August by a Russian courtroom to 9 years in jail for carrying lower than a gram of hash oil into Russia when she arrived in February of this yr for play within the Russian ladies’s skilled basketball league. Last month, she was transferred to a jail colony in Mordovia — 300 miles southeast of Moscow — to start serving out her sentence.

In courtroom, Griner admitted to mistakenly packing two vape cartridges in her rush to pack her baggage — however supplied paperwork that confirmed the hash oil was legally prescribed by her U.S. physician for ache administration.

Griner leaves a courtroom after the courtroom’s verdict in Khimki exterior Moscow, on Aug. 4.

Kirill Kudryatsev/AFP through Getty Images

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Kirill Kudryatsev/AFP through Getty Images

Griner leaves a courtroom after the courtroom’s verdict in Khimki exterior Moscow, on Aug. 4.

Kirill Kudryatsev/AFP through Getty Images

Her arrest in February was simply days earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine as tensions between the United States and Moscow had been rising.

The U.S. authorities had labeled Griner “wrongfully detained” and sought a prisoner swap with Russia involving Griner and Whelan. The White House mentioned it made a “substantial offer” over the summer time — extensively reported to contain a suggested trade of Bout — in alternate for Griner and Whelan.

Biden mentioned his workforce continues to work for the discharge of Paul Whelan.

“Sadly for totally illegitimate reasons Russia is treating Paul’s case different than Brittney’s,” Biden mentioned.

This is an ongoing story and can be up to date.

Ayana Archie contributed to this report