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Russian Viktor Bout exchanged for American athlete Brittney Griner

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Russian Viktor Bout exchanged for American athlete Brittney Griner


08.12.2022

Photo credit: SFERA success / youtube.com

Russian Viktor Bout, who was serving a sentence in American prison, was exchanged for US citizen Brittney Griner. The exchange took place at Abu Dhabi airport, RT reports.

Viktor Bout was detained in 2008 in Thailand by US intelligence agencies and later taken to the US, where he appeared before a local court and was found guilty of conspiring to sell weapons and aiding terrorism. The Russian was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $15 million. To date, the Russian has served more than half of this term.

American athlete Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling and possession of illegal substances.

Earlier, the Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko returned home. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that he was exchanged for an American citizen, Trevor Reid, who was convicted in Russia. Russian diplomats noted that this exchange was preceded by a very long process of negotiations. 

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