According to analysts, the United States must attempt to complete the swap for captives Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, even if it means transferring a dangerous arms dealer to ensure their freedom, Fox News Reports.
According to NPR, Under public pressure to obtain her release, the Biden administration has attempted to negotiate with Russia to liberate her and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan. But Russia has stated that any prospective arrangement, including a supposed prisoner swap in which the U.S. would free the renowned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, would have to wait until the court's decision.
Bout, a 55-year-old Russian male, was the most infamous arms dealer in the world prior to his 2011 conviction and imprisonment in Illinois.
In 1991, when Bout was in his mid-20s, the Soviet Union dissolved, spreading enormous quantities of Soviet military hardware throughout 15 newly independent nations. The majority of them lacked the means to pay their men or maintain track of the weapons they had recently inherited. Nearly everything was available for purchase. So Viktor Bout seized the opportunity to become the most sought-after weapons dealer in the criminal underground.
Brittney Griner was convicted of intentionally bringing drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday. Her case has aroused fears that she is being used as a political pawn in Russia's clash with Ukraine.
Griner was fined 1 million rubles, or approximately $16,400, by Judge Anna Sotnikova of the Khimki city court. She stated that the court considered Griner's partial acknowledgment of guilt, regret for the crime, state of health, and charitable contributions. The prosecution requested a sentence of 9.5 years in prison.
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