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The wife of jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner has welcomed Trevor Reed home after he was released as part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia.
Reed, a 30-year-old former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Russia for almost three years, was traded for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who had been serving a 20-year federal sentence for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the U.S.
Reed's release, at a time when U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated due to Russia's war with Ukraine, has raised questions about the fate of Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February after a search of her luggage at a Moscow airport allegedly revealed multiple cannabis oil vape cartridges.
Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, said her "heart was overflowing with joy" because of Reed's release.
"As I do everything in my power to get BG home, my heart is overflowing with joy for the Reed family," she said in a post on Instagram on Thursday.
"I do not personally know them, but I do the pain of having your loved one detained in a foreign country.
"That level of pain is constant and can only be remediated by a safe return home. For the Reed family, that day is today. Welcome Home Trevor, sending love to you and your family on this special day."
Cherelle Griner has been contacted for further comment.
President Joe Biden hailed Reed's release on Wednesday, but said "the negotiations that allowed us to bring Trevor home required difficult decisions that I do not take lightly."
Reed's safe return is "a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad," Biden added. "We won't stop until Paul Whelan and others join Trevor in the loving arms of family and friends."
At a press briefing on Wednesday, a senior administration official said they are "very aware that there are other Americans held in Russia with Whelan, Griner, and others very much in our minds today, even as we are so happy for the news about Trevor Reed."
The official added: "We will continue to work on an attempt to find ways to address other cases as best we can."
Asked if the president was in touch with or planned to reach out to Griner's family and the families of others detained in Russia, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: "We have, of course, been in touch with their families over the course of time. I'm not going to detail those conversations further."
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more