On December 8, 2022, a high-profile prisoner exchange was carried out between the United States and Russia. In this exchange, Russia released Brittney Griner, a renowned player from the Women's National Basketball Association and a celebrated U.S. Olympic athlete. Griner had been detained in Russia and sentenced to a nine-year prison term for cannabis possession. In a reciprocal move, the United States released Viktor Bout, a businessman arrested in Thailand in 2008 and later extradited to the U.S., where he received a 25-year prison sentence in 2012. The exchange occurred at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, marking the culmination of extensive and intricate diplomatic negotiations.
