'So good to be home:' Griner speaks out after release from Russia

US basketball star Brittney Griner said Friday in her first remarks since being released from a Russian prison that it was "so good to be home" and vowed to play again for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

Griner, in a message on Instagram, thanked a long list of people for securing her release with a "special thank you" to President Joe Biden.

"It feels so good to be home!" Griner said. "The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn."

Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February on drug charges, said she would do "whatever I can" to help secure the release of Paul Whelan, another American held in Russia.

Griner said she planned to be back on the court.

"I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season," she said.

Griner was swapped last week for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death," and taken to a US Army base in Texas for a medical checkup.

It was not immediately clear from her post if she had already left the military base, but she said she would be "home to enjoy the holidays with my family."

© 2022 AFP