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President Joe Biden on Thursday said WNBA star Brittney Griner “will soon be back in the arms of loved ones” after nearly a year in the “intolerable circumstances” of Russian custody.
Accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, Ms Griner’s wife Cherelle, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Mr Biden said Ms Griner’s release marked “a good morning” and “a day we’ve worked towards for a long time”.
“We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intensive negotiations and I want to thank all the hard working public servants across my administration, who worked tirelessly to secure her release,” he said.
Mr Biden said Ms Griner was “in good spirits” when he spoke to her following her release early on Thursday, and he told reporters she would be back in the United States “in the next 24 hours”.
Ms Griner, he said, was “relieved to finally be heading home” after having “lost months of her life” and “experienced needless trauma” from her months-long detention in a series of Russian penal facilities.
“She deserves space privacy and time with their loved ones recover and heal from her time being wrongfully detained,” he said, adding that the two-time Olympic gold medalist “endured mistreatment and a show trial in Russia with characteristic grit and incredible dignity”.
“She represents the best of America,” he said.
