The release of Brittney Griner has received some amount of backlash in the last couple of weeks for various reasons. Many are not happy with the release of a dangerous arms dealer like Viktor Bout. On the other hand, many are disappointed with the decision to not bring back former Marine Paul Whelan. While Griner was in captivity since February, Whelan was in captivity since December 2018. So people are raising questions about the reason behind leaving him behind while Griner was brought back.

Whelan was arrested for charges of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. He has spent around four years in a Russian penal colony so far.

Russia’s demand for the release of Paul Whelan

The U.S. government tried to bring both Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan back to the country. A few months back, President Joe Biden met with the families of both and assured them about the efforts to bring home Griner and Whelan. While Biden’s administration was able to finalize a prisoner swap deal for the 2014 WNBA champion, they were not able to do the same for Whelan.

Recently, Russia’s demand for the release of Whelan was revealed. Like Russia demanded the release of Viktor Bout for Griner, they reportedly demanded another prisoner for Whelan. As per reports from New Vision, Russia wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer held in Germany.

According to the report, Krasikov is “a former colonel in Russia’s domestic spy organization serving a life sentence for murder in Germany.” John Kirby, the national security spokesman for the White House, was recently asked about Russia’s demand. Kirby admitted Russia demanded the release of Krasikov.

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However, he added the U.S. government did not consider it as a serious offer. In July, Kirby noted including Krasikov in any deal was an attempt by Russia to avoid serious offers from the U.S.

Brittney Griner vouches to help

After Brittney Griner was released, she was taken to a military base in San Antonio. She was then taken to a medical center at the base for some evaluation. After the evaluation, it was announced Griner is well. Her agent stated that she played basketball for the first time in ten months.

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A few days later, Griner released her first public statement after her return. The Phoenix Mercury star thanked everyone for their support and said she was grateful for everyone who worked for her freedom. She also noted that she is willing to help President Joe Biden in the efforts to bring Paul Whelan and every American wrongfully detained on foreign soil.