Brittney Griner trial latest updates: ‘Terrified’ WBNA player writes letter to Biden pleading for help obtaining freedom from Russia

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBPA), the Human Rights Campaign, the GLAAD, the NAACP, the National Urban League, and a host of other human rights, LGBTQ+ and sports organizations have written a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris calling on the Biden administration to do more. for the release of Britney Greiner.

Britney Greiner wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking for help freeing her from prison in Russia.

In the excerpts shared by her representatives, she wrote: “Since I am sitting here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I am forever terrified here.”

In another segment, she told the president, “On the Fourth of July, our family usually honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who was a Vietnam War veteran. It hurts to think about the way I usually celebrate This day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

She further says, “I realize you’re dealing with a lot, but please don’t forget me and the other American detainees. Please do whatever you can to get us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and voted for you. I trust you.”

Ms. Greiner adds: “I still have so much to do with my freedom that you can help get it back. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for everything you can do at this moment to get me back. Home “.

While WNBA star Britney Greiner awaits her trial in Russia, you can follow the details of the case and how US authorities are responding to her detention:

Britney Greiner’s wife says the WBNA was forced into a small cage and drove for five hours every time she had to appear in court.

Sheryl Greiner said CNN New Day On Thursday, his 6-foot-9-inch wife had to endure a five-hour round trip from her place of detention to court, where she is kept in a small cage and forced to bend her body to fit inside.

Cheryl said Britney, aka B.J., told her she was “tired.”

“So BG has to travel more than five hours back and forth when she goes to court in a very, very small cage with her knees bent and her feet on the floor because it’s not big enough to fit in.”

Russian news agency report tast Details of the charges against Britney Greiner as they were read out in court today.

Fully aware that the transport of narcotics is prohibited in the Eurasian Economic Union, she purchased two cartridges containing 0.252 and 0.45 grams of cannabis oil, or 0.702 grams in total, for personal consumption from an unknown person in an unknown location and under unknown circumstances but on a date max February 17, 2022,” adding that Greiner later put the prohibited items in her suitcase and suitcase in an attempt to smuggle the drug into Russia.

According to the Russians, Mr. Greiner allegedly packed cannabis oil in her bag, most likely in the form of a vape.

It was this discovery that led to her now being detained for five months in Russia. On Friday, Ms Greiner appeared in a Russian court for the first time and faced charges of smuggling less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

The Britney Grenier case comes at a very low point in relations between Moscow and Washington. Greiner was arrested less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, exacerbating already high tensions between the two countries. Then the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, and Russia denounced the United States for sending weapons to Ukraine.

Elizabeth Rudd, the US charge d’affaires in Moscow, was in court and said she spoke with Greiner, who “is doing well in these difficult circumstances.”

“Britney Greiner has been illegally detained by the Russian Federation,” Ms. Rudd said. “The practice of unlawful detention is unacceptable wherever it occurs and poses a threat to the safety of everyone who travels, works and lives abroad.”

She said the US government, from the highest levels, is “working hard to bring Britney and all unjustly detained American citizens home safely.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Friday that politics played a role in Grenier’s arrest and trial.

“The facts are that the famous athlete was arrested in possession of prohibited drugs containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters.

“In light of what I have said, this cannot be politically motivated,” he added.

Graner’s supporters kept a low profile in hopes of a quiet solution until May, when the State Department reclassified her as an unjustly held and transferred oversight of her case to its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs — effectively the US government’s chief negotiator.

Basketball player Britney Greiner’s wife welcomed the news of the release of another American, Trevor Reed, from Russia as part of a prisoner exchange deal.

Sheryl Greiner, who is married to a WNBA player imprisoned in Russia, said she was “delighted” that Trevor Reed, a former US Marine, was released.

Gino Spocia He has the story.

Russia has defended the arrest of American women’s basketball star Britney Grenier, rejecting the Biden administration’s allegations that her detention in the country is “unlawful.”

Russian authorities said in a statement that 31-year-old Ms Greiner was detained by Moscow police in February on the basis of “objective facts and evidence”.

The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry: “She was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle cannabis oil” CNN, He said. In Russia, this is a crime.

The family of Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Britney Greiner has asked President Joe Biden to do “whatever is necessary” to release her from detention in Russia.

The two-time Olympic medalist was detained in Russia in February over allegations she was bringing marijuana through an airport in the Moscow region. The Phoenix Mercury player competed in the European leagues during the WNBA offseason, which was the reason she traveled to Russia.

“My sister has been unjustly detained in Russia for more than 100 days now,” the player’s sister, Shakira Greiner, said in a touching video.

“To many of you, Britney is affectionately known as BG, the WNBA star, the gold medalist. To us, she’s a daughter, she’s a sister, she’s an aunt, she’s a cousin, she’s her niece, and she’s a wife.”

Alisha Rahman Sarkar He has the details.