Not so much for the US.
WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian detention in prisoner swap for convicted arms dealer
She is an *acknowledged* drug-transporting criminal. Whether you agree with Russia’s laws on such things or not, those were the laws. And while the US went to the bizarre extreme of returning to Russia an arms dealer for Griner, the US has done doodly squat for other prisoners currently languishing in Russian penal colonies. Why? because Griner has various and sundry privileges that others don’t. see, for example, Marc Fogel. Very similar circumstances of bringing in a small amount of pot; almost no public outcry, no celebrities or TV NPCs shrieking about how the US needs to bring him back. Why? Feel free to guess.
But hey, at least the Russian get “The Merchant of Death” back.
2 responses to “This was a good deal… for Russia”
First time in memory that a WNBA trade has made the top of the news!
Obviously, there was more political pressure and more reward to be had for returning Griner.
I found it hard to be sympathetic to her or Fogel as they were breaking local laws and then whining about the penalty.
A prisoner who is worth advocating for is Paul Whela, a Marine who as jailed for espionage. If he was spying, we have a duty to try and retrieve him. If he wasn’t, then he deserves rescue. The other two are seemingly actually guilty of what they were accused of.