Britney Griner, an American basketball player detained for ten months in Russia, has signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury to continue her career in the WNBA, the United States’ major women’s basketball league.
In accordance with New York TimesGriner was arrested in 2022 at an airport near Moscow, Russia, for transporting a small amount of cannabis oil. A Russian court charged her with drug dealing and she was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. The US State Department said that the athlete was wrongfully detained, and demanded a prisoner exchange for her release.
The exchange took place in December when Griner was returned to the US and Viktor Bout, an arms dealer convicted almost a decade earlier, was sent back to Russia.
Shortly after her release, Britney Greener posted on Instagram that she would be committing to work to free other Americans who were wrongfully jailed and said she planned to return to play in the WNBA.