Today, Thursday, a Russian court sentenced American basketball player Britney Greiner to 9 years in prison, for drug possession, according to the Russian "TASS" agency, from inside the courtroom in Khimki, near the capital, Moscow.
Today, Thursday, US President Joe Biden condemned the ruling by a Russian court against the American basketball star, considering it "unacceptable."
Biden said, in a statement issued minutes after the verdict was announced, that "Russia is detaining Britney unjustly, and this is unacceptable," calling on Moscow to release her immediately.
The US president confirmed his intention to "work tirelessly" to bring back Greiner and Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was arrested in a Moscow hotel in December 2018, on charges of possessing sensitive materials.
And Newsweek reported last week that the administration of US President Joe Biden had offered to release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed "The Merchant of Death", in exchange for the release of Britney Greiner and Whelan, who are currently detained in Russia.
The American magazine Newsweek said that Bot, a Russian arms dealer, is currently serving a 25-year sentence in a prison in Illinois (Getty Images)
The American magazine said that the plan to release Bout would allow the United States to return Greiner, who was arrested at Moscow airport last February, and Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in 2020.