International arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Death Merchant,” revealed on Friday what he told WNBA star Brittney Griner during a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia in December
The exchange between the two countries took place at an airport in Abu Dhabi.
Bout, 56, exited the plane and shook hands with one man, hugged another before appearing to look at Griner.
“I said, you know, ‘I wish you the best of luck, and, you know, and we both went to our planes, you know,'” Bout exclusively told ESPN’s TJ Quinn.
Griner has been arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport for nearly 10 months while Bout has been in US custody since 2008.
Bout followed the timeline of Griner’s arrest from inside an Illinois prison where he was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill Americans — the Drug Enforcement Administration caught him in Thailand.
Convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout said he wished Griner the best of luck during their brief exchange during the exchange.AFP via Getty Images
Griner, 32, was detained by Russian authorities in February 2022 after a marijuana vape cartridge was found in his luggage while trying to leave the country as Russia prepared to invade Ukraine.
The WNBA All-Star pleaded guilty to drug possession charges in July 2022 and was sentenced to nine years in a forced labor camp in Mordovia.
Bout found out he would be “coming home” from the guards on exchange day.
Bout recalled that “the guard came at four in the morning with boxes” and knocked on his cell door and told him to start packing, and he knew his time in America was numbered.
“I realized, yes, I’m going home,” Bout said.
Brittney Griner is seen arriving back in San Antonio, TX, on Dec. 9, 2022, following the exchange.AFP via Getty Images
Griner sits in a holding cell after being sentenced to nine years in a forced labor camp.REUTERS
The convicted arms dealer told the outlet he was “instantly shocked” to see the All-Star without his “signature braid” after he cut it off to prevent his hair from freezing in the harsh Russian winter.
Realizing that the WNBA Center was “higher” than her when the deal first opened, Bout said she reached out and briefly shook Griner’s hand before starting back to Russia, she told the outlet.
Bout sympathized with Griner, saying they were both “pawns” for the involved politicians playing “chess, on this big chessboard they call geopolitics.”
Bout was being escorted by police as he arrived at the Ratchada criminal court in Bangkok for a crucial hearing that could determine whether he will be extradited to the United States on Oct. 5. 2010. ZUMAPRESS.com
US Marine veteran Paul Whelan is still in a Russian prison after being accused of being arrested for spying for the US in Moscow.AP
“I feel, you know, bad or upset about any person who would be made a pawn, even if they did something or not,” he told the outlet.
“Publicity is, like, a multiplier factor that can really kill you if you’re not strong enough to handle it.”
President Joe Biden signed the deal after months of back-and-forth with the Kremlin and the White House to secure Griner’s release.
The exchange came with a lot of pushback from the American people, who believed Bout to be a danger to the country and the administration did not include US Marine Veteran Paul Whelan in the exchange.
Whelan has been accused of spying for the US and has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
