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U.S. Official Reveals Details of Brittney Griner’s Flight Back to the United States

Nearly 10 months passed between Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner's arrest in Russia on charges of possessing hash oil and her return to the United States.

Over that span, Russia invaded Ukraine, Griner's release became a cause célèbre in the United States, and a Russian judge sentenced her to nine years in prison. She was transferred to a penal colony in November. Finally, on Dec. 8, Griner was released in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Newly free, Griner boarded a plane for the United States last week. On CNN's State of the Union, U.