Brittney Griner, a 31-year-old Black lesbian basketball player who plays in Russia during the offseason, has been held in Russia since she was arrested back in February at an airport in Moscow. Griner, a seven-time WNBA all-star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has been held on allegations of attempted drug smuggling, with Russia saying she carried a cannabis vape cartridge in her bag. The offense would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and her detention has already been repeatedly extended. Her trial is finally set to start on Friday, July 1, with Russia saying she’ll be detained at least through the duration of her trial.
The U.S. State Department classifies Griner as being “wrongfully detained,” per CNN. Even so, national media has been relatively quiet when it comes to covering Griner’s time in Moscow. She appeared in person for a preliminary hearing on Monday, but otherwise, her connection to the outside world seems minimal.
Her wife, Cherelle Griner, has been working hard to free Griner and get her home, but spoke to the Associated Press in detail about how frustrating and disappointing it’s been to not have any direct phone contact with Griner since her arrest—including missing a pre-scheduled call from Griner, apparently because no one on the U.S. side was in office to actually receive the call.
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”I find it unacceptable and I have zero trust in our government right now,” Cherelle Griner told the AP in an interview in reference to that precious missed call, adding that if she can’t trust they’ll be able to make a weekend phone call work, she can’t trust they’ll actually negotiate well on her wife’s behalf in order to come home. “That’s a much bigger ask than to catch a Saturday call,” she added.
Cherelle Griner told the outlet a contact in the U.S. government apologized for the error and said the number Brittney was given to call—which she did call, 11 times over a period of seven hours—is staffed to process calls during the work week but not on weekends. Though the date of the call had always been on a weekend, according to Griner, this apparently came down to a logistical error. But all involved are obviously reasonable in feeling frustrated and concerned.
Brittney Griner was arrested at the Sheremetyevo International Airport shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, and relations between the U.S. and Russia have been…. tense, to say the least, for essentially the entire time Griner has been held.
From the start, folks have speculated that Russia may be holding Brittney Griner as a political pawn and hoping to “swap” her for a Russian citizen held by the U.S. But again, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even if that was the case, it’s incredibly bleak timing. (And to be clear, Russia denies leverage accusations and maintains it’s simply enforcing its drug trafficking policy.)
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared on CNN and was asked about this very scenario: Is anything in the works to swap the imprisoned Griner for Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted for aiding a terrorist organization and conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens?
“I have got no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are being illegally detained in one way or another around the world come home,” Blinken replied before adding that he can’t give specific comments but that this is an “absolute priority.”
You can see that clip here.
Folks got a small glimpse of Griner entering and leaving her preliminary hearing. Per NPR, no U.S. Embassy officials were present, but they plan to be when the formal trial actually begins. It’s also important to keep in mind that very, very few cases in Russia are acquitted, so folks are already concerned the trial is going to be a sham.
All in all, it’s been a scary situation with little information. At some points, allies speculated that less media attention could serve Griner, as it might make her case look less appealing if Russia were considering her a pawn. On the flip side, Griner is a Black openly gay woman essentially trapped in Putin’s Russia with minimal contact with the outside world. Keeping quiet doesn’t feel like an ethical option.
Marissa Higgins June 29, 2022 at 02:30AM From Daily Kos
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