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US President Joe Biden
Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP
US President Joe Biden has assured the wife of jailed basketball player Brittney Griner, who is on trial in Russia, that she will work to ensure Griner's release as soon as possible.
The White House said in a statement.
Cherelle Griner, who had criticized the way her wife's case was being handled, later said she was "grateful" for the approach but would keep up public pressure.
Biden's conversation with Cherelle Griner followed Brittney Griner's personal appeal to the President in a handwritten letter received by the White House on Monday.
Griner said in the letter that she feared being imprisoned in Russia forever and asked Biden "not to forget about me and the other American prisoners."
Griner has been jailed in Russia for more than four months and is currently on trial on charges of possession of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
The call comes at a time when the Griner family has been increasing pressure on the Biden administration by speaking out on their case, including in a letter from Brittney Griner to the President and in television interviews by Cherelle Griner, in which she said she doesn't think the government is doing enough to bring her wife home.
Public pressure on Joe Biden has recently increased
“The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is committed to the speedy release of Brittney Griner, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other US citizens wrongfully imprisoned in Russia and around the world or being held hostage," the White House said in the statement.
He also read her a draft of the letter the President will send to Brittney Griner today.
Biden's call also followed a public appeal by more than 1,100 Black women leaders in business, sports, religion, labor, media, civil rights, education, government, entertainment and technology, calling on the government to "make an agreement to make Brittney... to get you home quickly and safely and meet Brittney's wife, Cherelle, right away."
During the phone call, Biden offered his support to Brittney Griner's family and pledged to ensure they receive "all possible assistance" during the government's efforts to get Brittney Griner released, according to the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke to Cherelle Griner.
"I'm grateful to both of them for the time they spent with me and for their commitment to bringing BG home," said Cherelle Griner, using her wife's initials.
"While I will continue to be concerned and open until she gets home, I am hopeful knowing that the President read my wife's letter and took the time to respond," she wrote in an Instagram post shared statement.
I know BG will be able to find solace in knowing that she has not been forgotten.
Griner, 31, is in the midst of a trial in Russia that began last week after she was arrested on February 17 for possession of cannabis oil as she returned to play for her Russian team.
She faces ten years in prison if convicted of large-scale drug trafficking.
The resumption of the trial was scheduled for Thursday.
Less than one percent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike US courts, acquittals can be overturned.
ara/AP
