Bill Richardson dies at age 75: Brittney Griner management pays tribute to ‘true partner’ in securing her release from Russian penal colony
Representatives of Brittney Griner, the Los Angeles media group Wasserman, have paid tribute to former UN ambassador and governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson after he passed away at the age of 75.
Richardson died in his sleep at home in Chatham, Massachusetts, it was announced Saturday.
He played a key role in freeing WNBA star Griner from her Russian captivity – after she was arrested at an airport in February 2022 with cannabis oil in her vape cartridges.
Her representatives at Wasserman said in a statement: “It is with sincere sympathy that we acknowledge the passing of former Governor and UN Ambassador Bill Richardson.
“Governor Richardson, along with the Biden administration, was a true partner in securing the release of Brittney Griner, our friend and client.
“We are deeply grateful for the governor’s decades of service to our country and his passion and efforts to bring home dozens of wrongfully incarcerated Americans.
“Our thoughts are with his family, friends, Mickey Bergman and the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.”
Griner was assigned to a penal colony in Mordovia, a region known for its brutal prison system, until the Biden administration secured her release last December.
She was traded for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, known by some as the “merchant of death.” Bout was arrested in 2008 on terrorism charges and later convicted in the US.
The Richardson Center for Global Engagement — the foundation he founded and led — announced his passing on Saturday.
“He has served others throughout his life — including his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully held abroad,” said Mickey Bergman, vice president of the centre.
“There wasn’t a person Governor Richardson wouldn’t speak to if it included a promise to bring someone back to freedom.
“The world has lost a champion for those wrongfully detained abroad, and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.”