After more than nine months of imprisonment in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner was taken to the United Arab Emirates to complete a prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

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Five months after Brittney Griner told President Joe Biden she was terrified she would spend the rest of her life behind bars in Russia, the WNBA star headed back to the United States. “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” Biden announced from the White House Thursday.

Griner’s release followed months of what the White House called "painstaking, extraordinary" negotiations between the Biden administration and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime for the safe return of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time WNBA All-Star.

Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury, had been in custody in Russia since February when she was arrested at an airport near Moscow while returning to play for her Russian professional basketball team, UMMC Ekaterinburg. She was charged with possessing cannabis oil.

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