Footage Shows Brittney Griner Walk Past ‘Merchant of Death’ Before Later Setting Foot on American Soil

WNBA star Brittney Griner crossed paths with convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” during their prisoner swap at an airport in the United Arab Emirates Thursday.

In February, Griner was detained at a Moscow airport after Russian customs officials said they found cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage, NPR reported. She pleaded guilty in July and received a nine-year prison sentence the following month.

Bout was convicted in 2011 on charges of conspiring to kill Americans and was serving a 25-year sentence, according to The New York Times.

He has been accused of supplying arms to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and rebels in Rwanda.

Bout, 55, was probably the highest profile Russian who was being held in the U.S., according to The Times.

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Russian state media video, verified by The New York Times, shows the prisoner exchange of Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout, the convicted Russian arms dealer known as “the Merchant of Death,” at an airport in the United Arab Emirates. https://t.co/sw6OPSRgrI pic.twitter.com/QTAYQUZDk8

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 9, 2022

The Wall Street Journal reported that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman helped broker the deal to secure the swap of Griner for Bout, the two said in a joint statement issued Thursday.

“The successful mediation efforts reflect the strong ties of friendship that the two countries share with the United States and Russia, and the important role played by the leadership of the two brotherly nations in strengthening dialogue between the parties,” the statement said.

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The Guardian reported in August the U.S. offered to trade Bout for Griner and American Paul Whelan, a Marine Corps veteran who has been held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges, but Russia did not accept the deal.

On Friday, Fox News host Dana Perino questioned White House national security spokesman John Kirby…

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