Washington, Dec 8 (PTI) US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that American professional basketball player Brittney Griner was safe and on her way home after being released from a Russian jail in a prisoner swap with Moscow that resulted in the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

"Moments ago, I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home," President Biden announced on Twitter soon thereafter making a televised address to the nation on the release of the popular Basketball player.

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Griner was arrested in February this year on charges of possession vape cartridges containing hash oil. She had pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Biden said she would be back home in the United States in 24 hours.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were present in the Roosevelt Room of the White House when Biden addressed the nation.

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Griner's wife Cherelle Griner in her brief remarks expressed her gratitude on the release of her spouse. "Today my family is home," she said. "Today, I'm just standing here, overwhelmed with emotions."

In his remarks, Biden thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping the United States in the release of Griner. "She's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held in intolerable circumstances. Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones — and she should have been there all along,” Biden said.

"This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations,” he said, adding that Griner is “in good spirits, relieved to finally be heading home".

"Brittney is an incomparable athlete, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA. She represents the best … about America,” he said.

Biden said he would continue to work for the release of another American prisoner in Russia, Paul Whelan, who has been in a Russian prison since 2018. Whelan is serving 16 years of hard labour for alleged espionage.

"We have not forgotten about Paul Whelan. Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's," said the US President.

Cherelle Griner hoped that other American prisoners would be released soon.

"B.G. is not here to say this, but I will gladly speak on her behalf and say that B.G. and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul [Whelan], whose family is in our hearts today...We do understand that there are still people out here who are enduring what I endured the last nine months of missing tremendously their loved ones,” she said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)