these emergence, published by the russian government shall have been released from the penal colony . she was held in and put on a plane to abu dhabi once inside. she was asked about her well being with and with that her long ordeal is finally overall. i corresponded mikaela excuse me, in washington, how brittany granny was doing well, we know is what we heard from joe biden. she's in good spirits. she was also described to be very gracious. we saw a walking on the tarmac, but her 1st trip will actually be to a medical facility in san antonio to have authority checked after 10 months of detention in, in the end, in this penal colony. she's the top athlete after all, 2 times olympic champion. so either way, this will take toll a toll on her fitness, and there was talk also by joe biden of trauma that she may be facing. and everybody around her, including her team at which spoke for the 1st time this morning. want to give her the space that she needs to recover. douglas farah is a john. this is written a book about victor boots. i asked him if trading a basketball, stoffer amount, whose

she was moved from the relatively safer moscow jail where she had been through her trial to this penal colony are descendants of the old soviet gulags. they're work camp. her job was carrying fabric around. there was concern that she could be a target. she is a 6'9" black lesbian from the united states, and no one knew could she be a target of another inmate, of a guard. what her lawyer was saying to me. and she is speaking from moscow. with all due respect, we have to take a little grain of salt with it. is that they assigned somebody who spoke english to her to help show her the rules because it's very easy in these camps to suddenly commit an infraction that gets your privileges taken away or put in solitary. but for the one month that she was there, she did okay. but you're right, she was looking for the long haul even when she was in jail, there is a basketball hoop but no ball. her lawyers offered to bring her a ball. she said i'm not ready to think about basketball. if i'm still here in the spring, bring it to me then. >> it is amazing the details and important that you point out that

he's also in a penal colony and has access to a phone to go on us television. so this is big diplomacy playing out here at victory at home for joe biden. but also a debate here where they're doing these kinds of deals could endanger us citizens in the future. the russians clearly determined to try and make the americans appear weak. but the bottom line is, is one person security back home at a very high price of an arms dealer with intelligence links. now, having been freed, a in washington will speak to douglas a far i was a journalist, an author of the book merchant of death. the money guns plans of the man who makes will possible about a victim, a boat to join us from miami. welcome to the w, just give us a thumbnail sketch, victor, a boot the amount on the other end of this a christmas wall. and why russia so came to having back to, to come out of the cold war and built this amazing air fleet and weapons transfer system. this business that turned along for almost a decade. but he was one of the russian soviet intel operatives. he had very good friendships w

last month, she was moved to a penal colony in a remote area 500 kilometers southeast of moscow. penal colonies are known for harsh conditions, where prisoners are placed in barracks and forced to performing daily work. many players and figures from u.s. basketball have welcomed brittney griner's release, among them breanna stewart, who treated b -- tweeted bg is free. the wa there's wnba commissioner has all of thtwo convert -- is also spoken. >> i look forward to hearing her voice. i called her this it gentle giant and look forward to reuniting myself with her. she had written to me a couple of months o. since then, the appeal occurred and was not sensible. maryam: brittney griner was exchanged for viktor bout, who was imprisoned in the u.s.. mr. bout's mother thanked putin for his release. he sold arms to warlords during the 1990's and became one of the world's most wanted men and was dubbed at the merchant of death and sold guns to the taliban al qaeda. this ended with his arrest in bangkok in 2008. he was extradited two years later the u.s. and sentenced to 25 years in jail

possessed cannabis oil, she claims was for pain, the russia side i detain her and then send to a penal colony last month, she was convicted to five years of hard labor, but efforts have been underway for the last few days of course, today is the 35th anniversary of the inf treaty were mikael gorbachev an ronald reagan signed that historic achievement to be an intermediate range missiles, of course ready to deploy i don't

she recently had an appeal rejected and was transferred to a remote penal colony. her release is part of the high stakes prisoner exchange. that sees the usa handover, a notorious russian arms dealer, scenes of joy in the oval office of brittany greiner. she has a phone call with her wife sharelle, and preston, joe biden, following confirmation of her release from a russian jail. she said he's on a plane. she's on her way home after him once been unjustly detained in russia, held on her on tolerable circumstances. brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and, and she should have been there all along. over the last name nancy, i'll have dan and so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life inserted am just standing here. i am overwhelmed with emotions bay. the most important emotion that i have right now. she is sincere gratitude for president biden and his entire administration. back in october, such scenes seemed unimaginable as greiner appeared, via video link from her prison cell, to make an appeal more in hope. the next spec taishan. oh, you

prisoners pops since the cold war. >> and the fact that she was suffering tremendously in this penal colony and work can't. im and then those working hard to get her home. so we hope this is hopeful. >> can you give and then to push with this with the white houseng and congress saying? >> but then to say she was inappropriately in present and with the public support. this is something that that was a purview to the and encouragement for the president to continue. >> over the 1520 —- 20 minutes ago. >> he was president to giving response within the hour so power is the of the first but in less than four weeks on january 3rd then the republicans will take over their house we will see more spending as the. >> that we do need to use as support and but i think it's really important to ournstrate with our allies we will allow that to expire but that there are folks who just want to continue. so i think whatever we can get done during the lame-duck week that we take advantage but also joining the social media pages as well but the spending as well does the house plan to have another $1 trillion sp

but certainly what we know in comparison to penal colonies are very different.ude it would take to reach the levels of success she has athletically, the drive, the focus. i wonder if you've reflected on what that must have been like for those two circumstances to meet? >> 6'9", two-time olympic gold medallist representing the country wearing the red, white, and blue, and in a cage, as we saw her during that trial. i couldn't get that out of my head. i've interviewed her. i covered her at the olympic games. i covered her when she was at baylor, one of the great players in college basketball history. ncaa champ, wnba champ, eight-time wnba all star, only 32 years old, has done all that. mostly representing our nation so beautifully twice at the olympic games. you know what also struck me? the wnba players. with cherelle griner, they never missed a beat. i think this may well be the finest hour for any u.s. pro sports league ever in terms of basically turning themselves into a pr machine to elevate her name and to have americans care about her. she should have been

reid spent nearly 3 years in a penal colony before being released in a prisoner swap during the day they had work. you know, most of the inmates were kept in a squalid inside. the food was bad. by that, i mean, >> you know, it was a very difficult existence. he says griner likely indoors, a similar experience, including hard labor working up to 16 hours per day, possibly in a charcoal or soap factory or doing general prison maintenance. she may be selling police uniforms or the prison uniform and head scarf. she likely wears and then eating whatever they feed her or is brought in for her in a communal dining room. in some instances, the women are punished if they don't work hard enough or meet their or refused to work. these facilities were built a break. >> they were designed to be brutal. i wouldn't count as griner out of the street fight, right? and that's what she's in right now. in the fight of life. >> well, that was nichole berlie reporting for us now in national news, the u.s. begins a new price cap on russian. well today they're trying to increase pressure against russian presid

these emergence published by the russian government show how being released from the penal colony. she was held in and put on a plane of w once inside. she was asked about her well being with and with that her long ordeal is finally overall. and let's get more on this. we are joined by database, mckayla cooper and washington mckayla. as we've seen, there greiner, just arriving in the united states, do we know how she's doing? well, we have to go on is really those images. and also what the u. s. president joe biden said he described her as being in good spirits, very gracious. so she has touched down, fully able to take this trip, but no doubt this must have taken its toll. and that's it, or something that's going to be assess when she's taken, as we understand to medical facility near san antonio, where she right over this past hours and where we also expect her to be reunited with her family. she's the top athey. she's a 2 time olympic medalist. she's missed an entire season who already heard her team speak this morning. there someone from the management is saying that they are v

yes, 16 more years of hard labor in that penal colony in russia. so, you know, i think it will be a merry christmas for all of those who are britney griner in. they'll champion and support this outcome, but the reality is there still an american being held in russia. chris harrington from date of his 4. it's a little bit more reaction and insight on who for any crime has and how her release is being received. thank you. so much. thank you. and let's get more. we are joined by our correspondent and russia analyst constantine agrent. he's joining us from vilnius in lithuania. constantine, tell us how is this swapping scene in russia? well, i think that a lot of russians don't really know who beat our boot. yours box touching him. his aunt are very well. they spent literally more than 14 years trying to extract you draw the embrace, let's say all the was just so i think about football too. it's who well, it's a, i think that's a bottles with raj, shows that she can achieve. so those are basically not one that we're not too many news about any kind of

she recently had an appeal rejected and was transferred to a remote penal colony. now her release as part of a high stakes prisoner exchange, that sees the united states hand over a notorious russian arms dealer. a prisoner swapped on the tarmac of abu dhabi at port it is here, the captive dns for you as possible. stop brittany griner scene here on the left and russian on the la victor boot on the right. us president joe biden spoke to grind shortly. i'll release, i'm glad to be able to say the brittany's in good spirits. she, she's relieved to finally be heading home. and the fact remains that she's lost months of her life experience. needless trauma, she deserve space privacy in time with a lovely recovery. he'll from her time being wrong through detain vice dryness. why sharon, thank dos involved in bringing brittany home. so over the last 9 months, y'all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life. and so today i'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions. but the most important emotion that i have right now is just sincere gratitude. like r

these images published by the russian government show it being released from the penal colony. she was held in and put on a plane to app or w. a long idea. it's finally over washington correspondent carolina jemma has more about this deal. there has been a lot of public pressure in the united states to get greiner back home, despite a recent release. we know that the negotiations have not been an easy victory for the bite of administration. the u. s. government had to pay a heavy price. they released victor boot a major arms dealer for al qaeda, the taliban, and to rebels in rwanda, but was sentenced to 25 years in prison. he would have been released in 2036. and in addition to greiner, the u. s. government also tried but was unable to secure the release of poll whelan . he is a us citizen who has been held in a russian prison since 2018 on charges of espionage, but according to the secretary of state antony lincoln, they had no other option than to do a one on one exchange. meaning, greiner for boot, he said the alternative would have been no release at all. we long will remai

she was brought to that penal colony. it's extremely difficult psychologically to come to terms with that because it seems so final. for her, it must be a big, big moment to finally be out of this. >> we should let folks know, these are penal colonies, first built by stalin. they're hundreds of miles from moscow. they're designed to demean. they're labor camps in effect. nick paton walsh, you were the last person to sit down with viktor bout for an interview. he denied in the interviews he was guilty of the crimes he was charged with. he called them bs. the fact is, those crimes were well documented. tell us more about him. >> reporter: he found himself expedited from thailand to the united states, a complicated sting put together by the dea, pretending to be colombian terrorists and got viktor bout to agree to supply them with high-tech weaponry. that led to a lengthy expedition back to the u.s., convicted and put in a u.s. jail. a career history, an extraordinary litany of crimes that involve the proliferation of small

she was released from a russian penal colony as part of a high stakes prisoner swap. in exchange, the u. s. has handed over a russian arms dealer, accused of supplying al qaeda and the taliban. among others growing up is a 2 time olympic gold medalist. she was arrested in moscow in february and sentenced to 9 years in prison on drug charges, a prisoner swap on the tarmac up without the effort. it was heel, but captivity ended for us basket. bold star, brittany greenow, senior on the left and the russian army dealer weak to boot on the right. you as president joe biden spoke to griner shortly after her release. i'm glad to be able to say the brittany is in good spirits. she, she's relieved of finally be heading home. and the fact remains that she's lost months of her life experienced the needless trauma. she deserves based privacy in time with their loved ones to recover and heal from her time being wrong through the tag. dryness wife sharell, tanked those involved and bringing brittany home over the last 9 months. you all have been i'm so privy to one of the darkest m

she had been kept in this russian penal colony.ld you tell us what she is being released from and what could be putin's thinking on now taking the u.s. up on this offer? >> that's really the question, isn't it? conditions are really severe. i mean, this is located in a region that is really remote. these penal colonies, as they're called have very sparse conditions. they have to do labor, a bad situation. but i think when you ask why now, obviously viktor boot has been key for russia and all of this depends on the situation by president putin. and viktor boot, even though it been a while, he is an arms dealer and he is very much a prisoner that could be of more value in the time of war because he knows he presumably still has those connections for selling weapons, obtaining weapons, et cetera. i would think that might be useful. and then of course how does this help putin is the ultimate question. does it make him look more magnanimous? i don't think that's probably a major part of this. we'll see what immediately i don't know says

tonight about wnba star brittney griner's first days of freedom and her detention in a russian penal colony. as one of her russian lawyers speaks exclusively to nbc news. nbc's marissa parra has that story. >> it was just pure happiness. >> reporter: russian lawyer maria blagovolina can hardly contain her smile. her client, brittney griner, is finally free. >> how she survived this because it was huge challenge for her. and i think that she really did great. >> reporter: our first glimpses of her new life show her smiling on the plane with some of the very same people who got her there. her wife cherelle waiting for her at the airport. griner's agent says this weekend her first move was a dunk, playing basketball for the first time in almost ten months. it's a dramatic turn from the last time the the russian lawyer saw her client, just three weeks ago. >> these are penal colonies, these are jails, and the conditions are harsh. >> reporter: soon after griner would cut off her signature locks out of survival in the russian winter. they kept freezing when she'd shower. >> because it's cold and

you got to visit brittney in that penal colony where she was held. we've heard about severe, harsh conditions in some of those places. how bad was it? >> well, this is not a holiday resort. this is jail, and the conditions there are really harsh, and that's true. but what i can say for sure, that brittney has not complained and was treated very well, and i think that the reason for this is mostly because of her very likable character. people like her. so everybody who is around her just is trying to help her and support her. >> what did it mean for brittney to hear about all of the support she was receiving back home during her detention? >> it really meant a lot. i think this is what helped her to survive and to remain strong during all of this difficult nine months. she very much appreciated this. >> do you think that more prisoner swaps could be on the table between the united states and russia? >> well, until there are prisoners in both country, i think this is possible, yes. >> thank you so much. appreciate your time today. >>> then, of course,

where brittney griner is currently in a penal colony. now is paul whelan's brother. when was the last time that anyone in your family heard from paul? >> the day before thanksgiving. and he had had regular phone calls with them for quite a while. and it was just an average call, things that were going on in the prison colony and things that he wanted to hear about from our mom and dad. >> and i know he has made a longstanding point of if i don't call every few days, then something's wrong. and obviously now it's been a full week. and i understand the russians are telling you that he was sent to a prison hospital nearly two weeks ago. obviously that would mean that he would have called you from that hospital if that's the case when he made the call. do you believe their claims that he's even in a prison hospital? and do they even say why? >> no, i don't believe it. paul was visited by the u.s. embassy staff. they said he looked very healthy on november 16th. and then according to the prison, thanks to the u.s. embassy calling them, they s

in an exclusive interview from its penal colony, only told cnn he was surprised he was not included. >> i am greatly disappointed that moore has not been done to secure my release, i'm happy that britney is going home today, and that trevor went home when he did. i don't understand why i'm still sitting here. my bags are packed, i'm ready to go home. >> wieland told cnn that the russians to him at a higher level than griner. yes been charged with espionage, and sentenced to 16 years. >> this was not a choice of which american to bring home, the choice was one or none. i wholeheartedly wish we could have brought paul home today, on the same plane as britney. >> alex marquardt joins us, now what more do you know about what is going to happen when she lines in san antonio? >> well, anderson, we are still waiting to get word that that plane has touched down in san antonio and that it is back on u.s. soil. it has been about 13 hours since we had heard that exchange had taken place on the tarmac in abu dhabi. so the play in heading to san antonio, griner's from texas but the reason it's go

the spy was sentenced to seven years in prison to be served in a penal colony.bel testifies. he was detained only six months ago by a large-scale personality . lithuanians in minsk. they overlaid him according to all the rules of blackmail, threatened with a criminal case for fraud with a land plot for embezzlement during the reconstruction of the sanatorium, they say, they will deprive its members family residence permit, and the son will be thrown into the car. drugs under pressure male dog signed a cooperation agreement. he collected data on the belarusians, who rested in sanatoriums, including information about the residence of the president of belarus in sochi, which is also on the territory of the health resort on the instructions of the dgb. the dog arranged for him to work and the right people, and that's it. this is in exchange for fear of compromising evidence and handouts in envelopes containing several hundred euros, of course, now everything is definitely under investigation under the article of treason state, and counterintelligence closed a danger

. >>> new images of brittney griner working in the penal colony released by russia after ten months in captivity, she spent her first full day back on u.s. soil. tonight what her wife is saying since they were reunited. >>> flu cases are soaring. the states being hit the hardest. the g the growing list of cities recommending masks indoors and fears over holiday gatherings. >>> it's been a year since mayfield, kentucky, was devastated by a deadly tornado. we speak to residents finding new hope while they rebuild >>> package thefts are rising with the holidays around the corner, how some police departments are getting creative to catch those porch pirates. >>> and giving the gift of joy. the mission to spread holiday cheer to veterans >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> /*. >> good evening. as we come on the air, a massive winterer storm isis slammining the west coast. nearly 40 million are at risk tonight from the extreme weatather. the dangerouous storm brbringing with it powerfulul wind gusts and torrential downpours. it could drop up to five feet of snow in

this after being released from a russian penal colony. >> her freedom comes in exchange for the u.s. releasing a convicted russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death. brie jackson reports on what's being called the highest profile prisoner exchange since the cold war. >> reporter: wnba star, brittney griner, is now free today from russian detention after the biden administration negotiated a prisoner swap. russia releasing her in exchange for viktor bout who was serving a 25-year sentence. greiner's wife celebrate ng the oval office with the president. the two spoke with greiner over the phone from the white house today. >> sincere gratitude for president biden and his entire administration. he just mentioned this work is not easy and it has not been. >> reporter: she was arrested in february at a moscow airport after russian authorities said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. she admitted to possession of the canisters, but testified she inadvertently packed them. she was convicted and serving a nine-year sentence, including being sent to a russian p

in the united states today after the biden administration brokered her release from a russian penal colony. in exchange the u.s. released a russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death. the deal has sparked mixed reactions on capitol hill and leaves questions about u.s./russia relations moving forward. nbc's drew petrimoulx has more from washington. >> reporter: early friday morning brittney griner taking her first steps back on american soil arrivingality an army hospital in san antonio for routine evaluation. >> we are overjoyed, overjoyed. >> reporter: while the return is widely celebrated, the deal that secured her freedom is under intense scrutiny. in the trade viktor bout, a notorious russian arms dealer, was released from custody. >> we should never have released viktor bout. it was a dangerous concession of vladimir putin. >> reporter: the white house defending the trade. >> nobody doing back flips here over the fact mr. bout is a free man. >> reporter: the deal criticized for not including the release of paul whelan, a businessman and former marine who has spent four years i

certainly from paul whalen's perspective it was, earlier today, he spoke to a cnn reporter from the penal colony where he's being held south of moscow. listen to him. >> i would say if a message could go to president biden, this is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly, and i would hope that he and his administration would do everything they could to get me home regardless of the price they may have to pay at this point. >> i have to say i'm greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. i was arrested for a crime that never occurred. i'm happy that brittney griner is going home today and that trevor went home when he did but beyond why i'm still sitting here. my bags are packed, i'm ready to go home. i just need an airplane to come and get me. >> tucker: poor guy. i don't understand why he's still sitting here. you can imagine how he feels. the former marine who has been there for four years already gets left behind in russia while the celebrity athlete gets busted with hash oil, champi

today, a devastated whelan spoke by phone from a russian penal colony. >> my treatment is also much differenthan others held for espionage at other prisons. >> reporter: meanwhile, griner is en route to brook army medical center in san antonio, where she will get an evaluation. >> today my family is whole, but as you all are aware, there's so many other families who are not whole. >> speaking of families not being whole, margaret, what's next for paul whelan's attempt to come home? >> well, jericka, secretary blinken told me this afternoon that this was just a one-for-one transaction, nothing more and nothing less. in other words, this isn't a diplomatic breakthrough that opens the door to other opportunities, and it also isn't clear what other cards the u.s. has left to play here to secure the release of whelan or another american, marc fogel, who has been detained on drug charges. over the course of the last few months, the u.s. has offered numerous russians who are being held here in the u.s., and the kremlin declined to take the offer. their top priority was a one-for-one swap and viktor

press, talking about the so called penal colony that, that britney griner had been sent to. and they were saying, oh my god, it's so terrible they make her work for almost nothing and the food is terrible and there's no medical care. and i wrote an article, i dashed it off. and i said clearly, none of these american journalists have ever seen me inside of an american prison. because what they're describing is an american prison. we have no right to complain about prisons anywhere else when ours don't even meet the most basic level of human rights. that's just me, people and people go out last, it should not throw down and i can't agree with you more or throw the stones 6 or glass. how 1st? yes, exactly. do you know? yes, spoken to 2 countless attorneys activists elected officials. has anybody been able to explain to you how the bureau of prisons has gotten away with using these c m use as a weapon to silence high profile prisoners? how is the b o p able to use these units so unethically? without there being any fall out. yeah, that's a great question. i mean there's been a n

we're giving the same thing that the penal colony are doing. i hate to say it, but it's, it's just a really scary situation and it seems it feel so unfair and i feel very disenfranchised. you know, just as an aside, dana after victor boot was, was sent back to russia and britney griner was brought back to the united states. there were articles in the u. s. press talking about the so called penal colony that, that brittany griner had been sent to and they were saying, oh my god, it's so terrible they make or work for almost nothing and the food is terrible and there's no medical care. and i wrote an article, i dashed it off, and i said, clearly none of these american journalists have ever seen the inside of an american prison. because what they're describing is an american prison. we have no right to complain about prisons anywhere else when ours don't even meet the most basic level of human rights. that's just me. people and people go out to the black office should not trust and i can't agree with you more or throw the stones a fixer glass. how

most recently, serving her nine year sentence in a russian penal colony. and there is new information about her life there. greiner says she cut her long hair two weeks ago and trimmed it to make her life easier during the russian winter, and her attorney there says she was unable to do the sewing work she was assigned at the penal colony, due to her large hands, and because the tables were too small to accommodate her joe biden's spokesperson think she appears to be in good health. >> she was incredibly gracious, and kind, and humble on the flight, very appreciative to get her home. >> reporter: griner is now undergoing a medical evaluation before being united with her wife , cherelle griner, the rest of her family. a senior biden administration official saying gauche negotiations to bring her home were separate from any talks to ukraine. the deal came together about one week ago after the u.s. offered to swap arms dealer, viktor bout, for both griner and paul whelen. he was detained in 2015, convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in pri

she was released from a penal colony in russia where she spent months.he was there in russia, back in february right before the ukraine invasion. then arrested on drug charges and convicted in august of drug smuggling and possession. she had hashish oil in her luggage that she used for pain. she was sentenced to nine years in jail, she was in that penal colony. her freedom was exchanged for the so called merchant of death, viktor bout and they're working on getting paul whelan back to the u.s. and that'll be a longer and more complicated trade as russia sees whelan as a spy. it's awesome that brittney griner will be back in the u.s. in time for christmas after all of this time but many are saying this is not a fair trade. she had hashish oil in her backage. viktor bout is the so-called merchant of death. he sold arms -- he was the bill gaits of the weapons -- gates of the weapons industry. stu: let's bring in mike huckabee joining us now. governor, was this a fair exchange, brittney griner, basketball player for international arms dealer trying to kill a

ten months in russian detention but now she's spared from a brutal 9-year sentence in a russian penal colonys. officials said the trade for notorious russians weapons smuggler viktor bout was finalized in the last 24 hours. she was flown to abu dhabi where the exchange was taken. >> i'm glad to be able to say brittney's in good spirits. shea's relieved to finally be heading home. >> reporter: the u.s. wanted to trade bout for griner and american paul whelan but russian refused. in an exclusive interview whelan told cnn he's surprised he wasn't included. >> i am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release. i'm happy that brittney is going home today and that trevor went home when he did, but i don't understand why i'm still sitting here. my bags are packed. i'm ready to go home. >> whelan told cnn that the russians see him at a higher level than griner. he's been charged with espionage and sentenced to 16 years. >> this was not a choice of which american to bring home. the choice was one or none. i wholeheartedly wish we could have brought paul home today on the same

yeah, that's because she has been in what is known as a russian penal colony, where she has been forced to do what we understand to be hard labor. her sentence, according to the united states, very extreme, and not proportionate with the crime that was alleged to have been committed. now the white house is always maintained that this was an unjust arrest. and brittany griner, for her part, maintained that this was an accident. she always admitted that she was carrying cartridges through the airport when she was detained in russia. that did contain traces of marijuana oil. but that this was done inadvertently. she was aware that this was a prohibited substance of it, that she packed her luggage in haste and was not aware that this was in her luggage . given the fact that there was such a small amount of this prohibited substance, the united states always felt that she was being held more as a political prisoner then for the purposes of the crime she had been committed. so the feeling was of the united states that the sentence of 9 and a half years to a russian penal colony was particular

us. us basketball star, brittany griner is back on us soil after being released from a russian penal colony. she touched down in san antonio, texas 10 months after being detained in moscow. a deal between the us and russian governments saw her release in exchange for a russian arms dealer, accused of supplying al qaeda and the taliban, and fueling armed conflict around the world. a prisoner swap on the tarmac of abu dhabi airport. it was here that captivity ended for us basketball star, brittany griner scene here on the left, and the russian army dealer, victor boot on the right. u. s. president joe biden spoke to griner shortly after her release. i'm glad to be able to say the brittany is in good spirits. she, she's relieved to finally be heading home. and the fact remains that she's lost months of her life experienced the needless trauma. she deserves space privacy in time with a longer to recover and heal from her time being wrong through detained greiner was arrested at a moscow airport in february after she was caught with less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. she was senten

these immigrants published by the russian government shall have been released from the penal colony. she was held in and put on a plane to abu dhabi once inside. she was asked about her well being a riddle. and with that long ordeal is finally oval. i'm brittany griner is free, but the ordeal continues for another american unlawfully held in russia former marine paul whelan. he's been held for 4 years on espionage charges and i can now speak to his brother david whalen. welcome to the day mister whelan. you were hoping that a deal would be made to free your brother as well. now that that has materialized. how are you and your family? well, we've been working on this for 4 years and we are back to work. we had all hopes. i had hopes that paul would be coming home if there was a deal and now that that has fallen apart for paul, we will just go back to supporting him and, and continue to advocate for his release and help us government and acted. how has your brother reacted to the news? well, he's been quoted in media. he was able to make a call that said he was greatly disappointed. an

yes, indeed, ziudin magomedov received 19 years in a strict regime penal colony, and he must also payine of 2.5 million rubles. his brother magomed magomedov received 18 years and a fine of 2 1/2 million rubles. in addition, the court ruled to confiscate it, and the owner of the amount, ziudina magomedov, to the elevator transport group fesco and the sum group. i remind you that in custody. they are in march 2018. this the time will also be counted at the rate of a day for a day, and the prosecutor demanded for zeyaudin magomedov 24 years in prison for his brother, 21 years, let's listen to the moment the verdict is announced. according to the totality of crimes, by partial addition of the imposed punishments, finally, how can it be determined 19 years in prison with decreasing punishment in a penal colony with a strict regime? in addition to the magomedov brothers, there were also four more defendants today, and artur oxidov, general director of intex. he got 12 years head united grain company sergey polyakov, he also received 12 years. head of the economic security department of the

these emergence, published by the russian government shall have been released from the penal colony . she was held in and put on a plane to abu dhabi once inside. she was asked about her well being with well, are you ready for it? and with that hello, go deal is finally over. and brittany griner is free, but the ordeal continues for another american unlawfully held in russia former marine paul whelan. he's been held for 4 years on espionage charges and i can now speak to his brother david whalen. welcome to the day mister wheel and you were hoping that a deal would be made to free your brother as well. now that that has materialized, how are you and your family? well, we've been working on this for 4 years and we are back to work. we had all hopes i had hoped that paul would be coming home if there was a deal and now that that has fallen apart for paul we will just go back to supporting him and, and continue to advocate for his release and help us government and acted how has your brother reacted to the news? well, he's been quoted in media. he was able to make a call that said he was