Brittney Griner.Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty
Two members of Congress are working with the United States Department of State to get Phoenix Mercury basketball playerBrittney Grinerreleased from Russia, where she is currentlybeing held on drug charges.
BothTexas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee(D-Texas) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) are working with the State Department after the 31-year-old athlete was arrested when Russian customs officers allegedly found vape cartridges thatcontained liquid with hash oilinside her carry-on bag at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in February.
Griner had traveled to the country’s capital from New York. The two-time Olympic gold medalist, like many professional women’s basketball players, plays overseas in Russia during the WNBA offseason.
According toESPN, Allred’s office has already begun working on Griner’s release.
“My office has been in touch with the State Department, and we’re working with them to see what is the best way forward,” Allred said, per ESPN.
“I know the administration is working hard to try and get access to her and try to be helpful here. But obviously, it’s also happening in the context of really strained relations,” he added. “I do think that it’s really unusual that we’ve not been granted access to her from our embassy and our consular services.”
The House Foreign Affairs Committee member continued, “The Russian criminal justice system is very different than ours, very opaque. We don’t have a lot of insight into where she is in that process right now. But she’s been held for three weeks now, and that’s extremely concerning.”
Griner is being detained amidstRussia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which started late last month.
“So this is not the first time in recent years that an American has been detained and then held either without reason or without a sufficient kind of explanation,” Allred explained. “What’s obviously different here is that Brittney is an extremely high-profile athlete, and it’s happening during the course of a Russian-begun war in Ukraine, in which we are deeply opposed to what they’re doing.”
In a news conference held Saturday, Leeweighed in on the situationand confirmed that she has been in contact with the State Department (The Congresswoman represents Houston, Texas, Griner’s hometown).
“We know that there were some issues dealing with vape cartridges and other items but let me be very clear: Brittney Griner is a United States citizen, she was a guest in Russia … and I will be demanding her release,” Lee stated.
“I don’t want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations his entire service in this world,” she continued. “Anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, a neighboring country that is not bothering them, has no right to hold Ms. Griner. Period.”
A criminal case against Griner has been opened. If convicted of her alleged charges, Russian officials say Griner could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, according toCNN.
source: people.com
