INSIDER
The 24-person blockbuster prison swap carried out this week required the U.S. to regroup after the unexpected death in February of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who’d been seen as a key cog in a potential exchange.
The U.S. and Russia completed on Thursday their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries who released individuals in their custody as part of the exchange.
The United States and Russia have completed a 24-person prisoner swap, the largest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free.
The U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator is defending prisoner swaps that free Americans wrongfully detained by foreign countries in exchange for the release of convicted criminals.
Washington’s revolving door kept spinning this week as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s recently departed second-in-command returned for another stint with a high-powered consulting firm where he previously advised OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.
Saying she is ready to share the “unfathomable” experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner is working on a memoir that is scheduled for spring 2024.
A show of prison artwork by a Russian arms trader serving 25 years in the United States and the focus of speculation about a prisoner swap that could free WBNA star Brittney Griner has opened at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament.
President Joe Biden says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S. midterm elections are over.
The Kremlin has reiterated that any discussions about a possible swap involving U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner who is serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia for drug possession must be strictly confidential.
WNBA star Brittney Griner is at her “absolute weakest moment in life right now” as she faces a hearing in Russia later this month for her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.
President Joe Biden plans to meet at the White House on Friday with the families of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom remain jailed in Russia.
Bill Richardson, who has worked to secure the releases of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, visited Moscow this week and held meetings with Russian leaders.
Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage negotiations, says he's hopeful about the chances of a two-for-two prisoner swap that could result in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan.
The Kremlin says it’s open to talking about a possible prisoner exchange involving American basketball star Brittney Griner but strongly warned Washington against publicizing the issue.
Now that WNBA star Brittney Griner has been convicted of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison, attention turns to the prospect of a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia that could get her home.
Since Brittney Griner last appeared in her trial for cannabis possession, the question of her fate has expanded from a cramped courtroom on Moscow’s outskirts to the highest level of Russia-U.S. diplomacy.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and urged Moscow to accept a U.S. proposal to release WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detainee, Paul Whelan.
Russia's top diplomat says he’s open to a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a possible prisoner swap involving American basketball star Brittney Griner.
The Kremlin has warned that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving American basketball star Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare.
WNBA star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was said during questioning when she was detained at Moscow’s airport in February and officials told her to sign documents without giving an explanation.
The drug trial of American basketball star Brittney Griner in a Russian court focused Tuesday on testimony that cannabis, while illegal in Russia, is regarded in other countries as having legitimate medicinal use.
The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the United States has shown disrespect for Russian law by characterizing basketball star Brittney Griner’s jailing on drug charges as “wrongful detention.”.
A lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner at her drug possession trial has given a Russian court a letter from a U.S. doctor recommending she use cannabis to treat pain.
The drug possession trial of WNBA star Brittney Griner has resumed, with the head of the Russian club she plays for in the offseason and a teammate from that squad testifying in support of her character and what she has meant for women’s basketball in the country.
When Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug possession in a Russian court, hopes rose that her months of detention may soon be over, either through a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap or a pardon from President Vladimir Putin.
WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug possession charges on the second day of her trial in a Russian court in a case that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
WNBA star Brittney Griner appeared in a court near Moscow that ordered her trial on cannabis possession charges to begin Friday, about 4 1/2 months after she was arrested at an airport while returning to play for a Russian team.
U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner will remain in Russian custody through at least July 2 after her detention was extended for a third time, Russian state-run media has reported.
Families of American hostages and detainees say they're frustrated with the Justice Department over what they see as the agency's refusal to consider prisoner exchanges that could get their loved ones home.
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