Brittney Griner, Texas WNBA player detained in Russia, appeals to Biden

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Brittney Griner, a Houston native who has been detained in Russia since she was arrested greater than 4 months in the past, has made a direct attraction for assist to President Joe Biden, a number of media retailers reported Monday.

“Please don’t forget about me and the other American [d]etainees,” Griner wrote, in accordance to excerpts of the letter shared by a household consultant. “Please do all you can to bring us home.”

Griner, who performed school basketball for Baylor University in Waco, went on to be a seven-time WNBA All-Star heart and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Like many WNBA gamers, Griner performs in Russia throughout the league’s offseason.

In February, she was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport close to Moscow after arriving from New York. Russian officers claimed she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her baggage, a cost that may include up to 10 years in jail.

Griner’s detention has been prolonged an additional six months till her trial, which started Friday, concludes. Legal specialists have told The New York Times her case seemingly will finish in conviction.

U.S. State Department officers have labeled Griner as “wrongfully detained,” and dozens of human and civil rights organizations have called for Biden to negotiate her launch.

Monday’s letter represents the primary direct plea Griner has made to Biden. Representatives for Griner’s household launched excerpts of the handwritten letter to media retailers, together with CNN and NBC, and stated it was delivered to the White House on Monday.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote.

Cherelle Griner, who has been main the battle to get her spouse launched, made an impassioned plea to Biden in a statement to The 19th.

“President Biden, I hope this letter moves you the way it moved me and that you will do whatever you can to bring my wife home quickly and safely,” she stated.

Brittney Griner initially was detained only a week earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine, stoking fears amongst her family members and supporters that she was getting used as a political pawn.

The New York Times has reported that the Russian authorities probably is in releasing Griner in trade for the discharge of Russian arms vendor Viktor Bout. Bout, often called the “Merchant of Death,” is serving a 25-year federal jail sentence in the U.S. for promoting weapons to a Colombian terrorist group.

The U.S. State Department has declined to touch upon whether or not a prisoner swap is being thought-about, The New York Times reviews.

Another Texan detained in Russia, former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, returned residence in April after the U.S. agreed to launch a Russian pilot who was serving a prolonged jail sentence for cocaine trafficking.

In her letter, Griner instructed Biden that her household normally spends the Fourth of July honoring the service of “those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran.”

“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day,” she wrote, “because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

Disclosure: Baylor University and The New York Times have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded in half by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no position in the Tribune’s journalism. Find an entire list of them here.

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