American basketball star Griner sends Biden handwritten letter asking for help | Abroad

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, I am terrified that I will have to stay here forever,” Griner wrote on US National Day. The White House has since acknowledged receipt of the letter.

“On July 4, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, such as my father who is a veteran of the Vietnam War. It hurts when I think about how I normally celebrate this day, because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

“I realize you have so many things to do, but please don’t forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do everything you can to bring us home,” Griner added. “I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much to make up for in my freedom that you can help restore.

“I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It pains me to know that they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for everything you can do right now to get me home.”

The trial against 31-year-old Griner started last Friday. On February 17, she was arrested at an airport near the capital Moscow for being in possession of “vape cartridges that smelled of cannabis oil,” it said in a statement from Russian customs. She faces a 10-year prison sentence for this. The trial threatens to drag on until the end of this year and Griner will remain behind bars at least for the duration of it. The next hearing will take place on July 7.

Griner’s representatives will not comment on the substances allegedly contained in her vape cartridge. The difference between non-psychoactive cannabidiol – more commonly known as CBD, which is popular among athletes as a potential training aid aid – and psychoactive cannabis is not recognized in Russia. CBD is widely recognized as legal in the US, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from its banned substance list in 2018.

Her arrest was not announced until March 5, fifteen days after her arrest. In the meantime, Russia had invaded neighboring Ukraine, triggering an international crisis and US sanctions on Moscow. Washington fears that the basketball star is being used as a means of pressure in the conflict with Russia and has already warned that Americans in Russia risk being arbitrarily arrested.

Brittney Griner is a two-time Olympic champion and a star in her own country. In Russia she was a teammate of Belgian Cat Emma Meesseman at Yekaterinburg. As a sign of support, the North American women’s basketball league WNBA is putting its jersey number and initials on all courts this season. Domestically, Griner plays for Phoenix Mercury.