The American basketball star and Olympic champion Brittney Griner is being released from prison. She had been held in Russia for almost 10 months. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Griner was on an airplane back to the U.S. She was arrested in February. Russian officials said they found two small containers of marijuana oil in her bags as she arrived at the airport in Moscow. She pleaded guilty to the charge in July and then faced trial. Griner said she mistakenly packed the objects in a rush to get to the airport. In August, she was sentenced to a prison term of nine years. After months of negotiations between Russian and American officials, Griner was released in a prisoner swap. Russian weapons seller Viktor Bout is being sent home. Bout was serving a sentence of 25 years. American officials said they had been hoping to also gain the release of businessman Paul Whelan. He was charged with spying in December 2018 and given a 16-year sentence in 2020. In announcing the release of Griner, Biden spoke about Whelan. He said: “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan…We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.” Whelan’s brother, David, said the U.S. made the right choice to bring Griner home instead of waiting for a trade “that wasn’t going to happen.” Officials said the prisoner exchange happened in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.