Following last year’s prisoner swap between the United States for Brittney Griner and Russian Viktor Bout, the latter reveals details about the swap.
In an interview with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bout, known as “The Merchant of Death”, was told to pack his things up and he’s going home, according to the 56-year-old. Their story oddly intertwined between two superpowers, as he believes they were both pawns in the horrific scenario, and said that he wished her good luck before going to their planes.
The exchange took place at the end of 2022, with Griner being months into her sentence, and Bout already a decade into his.
Bout was arrested in 2010 following a sting operation in Thailand and extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy. Griner was arrested in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine after finding a weed pen on her in the airport, and was sentenced to a comparable time.
Following the exchange, Griner returned to the court before taking an extended leave of absence due to mental health issues.
