Two-time basketball Olympic champion Brittney Griner, who has been imprisoned in Moscow, is being unfairly detained by Russia, according to a new assessment by the US government.
A spokeswoman for the State Department in Washington confirmed corresponding US media reports on Tuesday. The spokeswoman also said that US President Joe Biden’s special representative for hostage matters, Roger Carstens, would take care of the US citizen’s case from now on. “The U.S. government will continue to make efforts to provide Ms. Griner with appropriate assistance.”
On March 23, a US diplomat was granted consular access to Griner. The US State Department had previously urged consular care. After her arrest on charges of drug possession, Griner is in custody at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. A court in the Moscow region in the city of Khimki had extended the arrest until May 19.
The professional basketball league WNBA also focused more attention on the case on Tuesday. In the season starting next weekend, a logo with the initials BG and Griner’s shirt number 42 should be visible on all pitches. The Phoenix Mercury, with which she lost to Chicago Sky in the championship final last season, can continue to pay Griner in full, without this money being counted in the squad’s salary cap. So far, the WNBA had held back with public actions. Reportedly, this was done out of concern for making things worse for Griner.
As the Interfax news agency reported in early March, citing Russian customs, so-called vape cartridges and hashish oil were said to have been discovered in the American’s luggage during an inspection in February. According to the information, you face five to ten years in prison. The 31-year-old US international has also played for the UMMC Yekaterinburg team in the Urals since 2015. Griner won the Euroleague four times with the top Russian club.