By Dennis Romero
WNBA star Brittney Griner has asked President Joe Biden to bring her home from Russia, where she remains in detention and is on trial on drug smuggling charges.
The athlete herself sent a handwritten letter to the president in which she claimed to be "terrified".
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, my family, my friends, my Olympic jersey or any achievement, I am terrified of the possibility of being here forever,” Griner wrote.
[Putin spokesman says Brittney Griner is not a hostage and gives no clues about her release]
A spokesman who released excerpts from Griner's letter on Monday said the document was delivered to the president at the White House on Monday.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document.
Griner, 31, a native of Houston, Texas, and center for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained in February by Russian Federal Customs Service agents at Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow.
The athlete herself plays on a Russian team during the WNBA offseason.
Russia extends arrest of American basketball player Brittney Griner
May 13, 202200:30
“I miss my wife!
I miss my family!
I miss my teammates,” she wrote to Biden.
“It kills me to know that they are suffering so much right now.
I appreciate whatever you can do right now to get me home,” she requested.
The Russian authorities allege that he was transporting cannabis-derived vaping cartridges.
Griner's reps have not addressed the technical substance of what it allegedly contained, and the line between non-psychoactive cannabidiol - better known as CBD, which is popular among athletes as a potential training recovery aid - and cannabis. psychoactive is not recognized in Russia.
[Brittney Griner appears in a Russian court for a preliminary hearing]
CBD is generally legal in the United States, and the World Anti-Doping Agency removed it from its list of banned substances in 2018.
In his letter, Griner acknowledged that the Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the nation's freedoms.
“On the Fourth of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War,” Griner said.
"It pains me to think about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year," he added.
American professional basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is led in handcuffs into a courtroom in Khimki, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 1, 2022.Alexander Zemlianichenko /AP
She implored Biden to keep working to free her.
"I realize you are dealing with a lot, but please don't forget about me and the other American detainees," he wrote.
“Please do everything you can to bring us home.
I voted for the first time in 2020 and I did it for you.
I believe in you.
I still have a lot of good to do with my freedom and you can help me get it back."
[Russia extends detention of basketball star Brittney Griner]
The White House has been adamant that Griner is wrongfully detained.
Officials have said they are working behind the scenes to free her.
"The US government continues to work aggressively -- using every means available -- to bring her home," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement Monday, adding that the administration is "in touch." regularly” with his family.
"National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has spoken with Brittney's wife twice in the past two weeks and the White House is coordinating closely with the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who has met with Brittney's family. , his teammates and his support network,” added Watson.
The situation is surely complicated by animosity between the United States and Russia.
Griner was arrested less than a week before Russia invaded Ukraine and launched economic sanctions, the withdrawal of Western companies and the shipment of weapons and technology to Ukraine.
On June 28, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to reporters about Griner's situation aboard Air Force One en route to Madrid, Spain, saying the matter "has the full attention of the president."
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"The Russian government should release her and allow her to return and be reunited with her family and return home safe and sound," he said.
Sullivan said he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke with Griner's wife and expressed sympathy for what the family was going through.
Griner was photographed in the Russian court on Friday.
The next hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
