Amid the news of Brittney Griner’s release, White House officials stressed that prisoner swaps would remain 'extremely rare'
Prisoner Swap for Griner Was Biden's Second, But White House Says They Must Remain Rareince the start of his presidency, Joe Biden has been wary of prisoner swaps. Whenever the prospect of negotiating the exchange of those held in the US for Americans held overseas was broached, members of his administration would exhibit reluctance, according to a person involved in such discussions. For some of the families of Americans detained abroad, it was a frustrating obstacle.
In July, the Biden administration put another offer on the table with Moscow: release of the convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the return of basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. Griner, a basketball star, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for having cannabis oil in her luggage. She was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after pleading guilty to drug charges, and was recently transferred to a Russian penal colony.
Biden’s use of prisoner swaps does not mark a shift in US policy from the previous administration. In December 2019, the Trump administration secured the release of Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang, who Iranians had charged with espionage and imprisoned for three years, by releasing an Iranian stem-cell scientist Masoud Soleimani, who had been arrested in 2018 for trying to export research materials without a license. The next year, Iran released American Michael White, a U.S.
White House officials acknowledged that disappointment. “Through every step of the process, we have sought to bring Paul Whelan home and that will not change—that will continue to be our commitment,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “Regrettably, due to the nature of the totally illegitimate charges they levied against Paul, the Russians are treating this situation differently.
The State Department has begun flagging countries that show a pattern of wrongful detentions with a “D” in its public travel warnings. That indicator joins the current designation of “K” for countries where Americans are at higher risk of kidnapping.
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