Bout, Viktor
Griner’s Sentence Renews Pressure on President Biden
WASHINGTON — Immediately after a Moscow judge handed down Brittney Griner’s nine-year prison sentence on Thursday, calls grew louder for President Biden to find a way to bring her home. “We call on President Biden and the United States government to redouble their efforts to do whatever is necessary and possible,” the Rev. Al Sharpton […]
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U.S. Offer to Swap Russian Arms Dealer for Griner Highlights Uncomfortable Choices
For their families as well, the choice looks different than for geopolitical figures worried about the precedent. “It’s a hard call, and fortunately I’m not the president of the United States,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, told Fox News on Thursday. “But if the president makes that difficult decision, I would absolutely support Paul’s release if […]
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Viktor Bout Could Be Swapped for Brittney Griner. Who Is He?
Shortly after his conviction in 2011 on charges including conspiring to kill American citizens, the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout relayed a defiant message through his lawyer, even though he faced the prospect of decades in prison. Mr. Bout, his lawyer said, “believes this is not the end.” More than a decade later, Mr. Bout, […]
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Glimpses of Brittney Griner Show a Complicated Path to Release
One hundred forty-one days. That is how long Brittney Griner has been behind bars in Russia. That is how long she has been stuck in the middle of a high-stakes staredown between the United States and Russia at exactly the wrong time, as President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia continues his horrendous invasion of Ukraine […]
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Russia Hints at Linking Griner’s Case to Fate of ‘Merchant of Death’
WASHINGTON — She is an American professional basketball star, accused of carrying hashish oil in her luggage. He is a notorious Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death,” serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who said they planned to kill Americans. And the Kremlin appears interested […]
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