Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout traded for US basketball champion Brittney Griner joins Russia’s right-wing populist parliamentary party

Notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was swapped for US basketball player Brittney Griner last week, has officially joined the ranks of Russia’s populist and right wing Liberal Democratic Party, party leader Leonid Slutsky announced.

“I personally handed Viktor Bout his Liberal Democratic Party membership card at the convention in honour of the party’s 33rd anniversary. <…> I am sure that Viktor Bout, a strong and brave man, will find his rightful place in the party. Welcome to our ranks!” he wrote.

Bout, an arms dealer convicted in the US, was traded for Griner, convicted in Russia in a drug smuggling case, on 8 December.

On 4 August, Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a medium-security prison. She was also slapped with a one-million-ruble fine (€16,250). The state prosecution argued that the evidence found proved she was guilty. The basketball player was detained in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on 17 February. Vape pods containing hash oil are believed to have been found in her luggage. Griner pled guilty during a court hearing on 7 July.

In 2012, Bout was sentenced in the US to 25 years in prison for illegally trading weapons. The Russian arms dealer was also fined $15 million.