WNBA star Brittney Griner is in the process of being transferred from a Russian jail to a prison colony that is rife with harsh conditions.
Worse yet, neither her family nor U.S. officials know where Griner’s being moved to in order to begin her residence at a forced labor camp.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement early Wednesday morning that was obtained by ESPN. “As the Administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the President has directed the Administration to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony.”
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, added in a statement, “Our primary concern continues to be BG’s health and well-being. As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we ask for the public’s support in continuing to write letters and express their love and care for her.”
The Phoenix Mercury superstar center, WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist has been jailed since February 2022 after she was caught with tiny traces of cannabis in her luggage after she landed at the airport near Moscow.
Griner pled guilty to smuggling drugs into the communist country and has subsequently been convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. A Russian appeals court upheld Griner’s appeal in late October.
Meanwhile, the White House continues to use back channels to try to negotiate Griner’s release.
“In the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russians through all available channels,” the statement reads, according to ESPN. “The U.S. Government is unwavering in its commitment to its work on behalf of Brittney and other Americans detained in Russia — including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan.”
