 US basketball star released in prison swap with Russia. Russia has released US basketball star Brittany Greiner from police custody as part of the prisoner swap with the United States, two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittany Greiner, who was sentenced to nine months prison term on drug charges was released on Thursday. Greiner was arrested in Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and sent to a remote panel colony in November. Her appeal for release was recently rejected by a Russian court. Greiner's release comes after a prisoner exchange for notorious arms dealer Victor Bott, who had been in an American prison for 12 years. Russia had sought Bott's release for a long time. The potential deal for a prisoner swap of Bott for Greiner had been offered by US President Joe Biden back in July. This is a day we have been working towards for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. Biden said while commenting on Greiner's release, she's safe, she's on a plane, she's on her way home after mass of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances. Biden said he also sang the UAE for helping Washington facilitate Brittany's return.