Russian ex-arms dealer freed for Brittney Griner to run for far-right party in local vote
July 02, 2023
(Reuters) - A Russian arms dealer freed last December in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been chosen as the candidate of a far-right party for a seat in a Russian regional legislature, state news agency RIA reported on Sunday. Viktor Bout, once dubbed "the merchant of death" by the United States, served 10 years of a 25-year sentence in U.S. prisons on arms dealing charges until his release in the prisoner exchange with Griner, an Olympic gold medallist. RIA cited an official in Russia's ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR)'s local organisation as sayi...