Tag: U.S. Russia ties

Russia releases U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in prisoner swap including arms dealer Viktor Bout

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been released in a prisoner swap with Russia and is on her way back to the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, ending what he called months of “hell.” The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, a former arms dealer. The… Read More Russia releases U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in prisoner swap including arms dealer Viktor Bout

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U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner transferred to Russian penal colony

Russian authorities last week transferred U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner from a detention centre outside Moscow and she is now on her way to an undisclosed penal colony, her legal team and Washington’s top diplomat said on Wednesday. The two-time Olympic gold medallist was arrested on February 17 – a week before Russia invaded Ukraine… Read More U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner transferred to Russian penal colony

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Russian appeal court upholds sentence of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner’s Russian lawyer said on Tuesday that she and her team hoped she could be released in a prisoner exchange with the United States. Speaking to reporters after an appeal court near Moscow upheld Griner’s nine-year jail sentence for possessing and smuggling vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, lawyer Alexander Boykov said:… Read More Russian appeal court upholds sentence of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner

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Russian President Vladimir Putin grants citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden

President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and… Read More Russian President Vladimir Putin grants citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden

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Legal team of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner files appeal against Russian narcotics conviction

The defence team of Brittney Griner, the U.S. basketball star jailed for nine years in Russia on drugs charges, appealed on Monday against her conviction for narcotics possession and trafficking. Griner was convicted on August 4 in a verdict that U.S. President Joe Biden called “unacceptable”. Washington says she was wrongfully detained and has offered… Read More Legal team of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner files appeal against Russian narcotics conviction

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Russia expresses readiness to discuss prisoner exchange with U.S.

Russia said on Friday it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with the United States in private, a day after a Russian court jailed U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for nine years for a drugs offence. The case against Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, plunged her… Read More Russia expresses readiness to discuss prisoner exchange with U.S.

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Russian court jails U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner

A Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that U.S. President Joe Biden called “unacceptable.” Griner was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police after the ruling, turning to reporters and… Read More Russian court jails U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner

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U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Russian individuals and groups

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on two Russian individuals and four entities it accused of supporting the Kremlin’s global malign influence and election interference operations, including in the United States and Ukraine. “The individuals and entities designated today played various roles in Russia’s attempts to manipulate and destabilize the United States and… Read More U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Russian individuals and groups

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