In the case of the jailed basketball player, the US government is tightening the tone
Status: 09:52 a.m
The case of incarcerated basketball player Brittney Griner is drawing more and more circles in politics
Which: REUTERS
Brittney Griner has been in custody in Moscow for over two months. The US basketball player is accused of drug smuggling. Wrongly, as the US thinks. Now the US Special Representative for Hostage Affairs is getting involved in the case.
Dhe US is sharpening the tone in the case of Brittney Griner. According to a new assessment by the government in Washington, the two-time basketball Olympic champion who was imprisoned in Moscow is being unfairly detained by Russia. A spokeswoman for the State Department confirmed corresponding US media reports on Tuesday on request.
The spokeswoman also said that US President Joe Biden’s special representative for hostage matters, Roger Carstens, would take care of the US citizen’s case from now on. “The U.S. government will continue to make efforts to provide Ms. Griner with appropriate assistance.”
On March 23, a US diplomat was granted consular access to Griner; the US State Department had previously urged consular assistance. After her arrest on charges of drug possession, Griner is in custody at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. A court in the Moscow region in the city of Khimki had extended the arrest until May 19.
Solidarity for Griner
The American professional league WNBA also focused more on the case on Tuesday. In the season starting next weekend, a logo with the initials BG and Griner’s shirt number 42 should be visible on all pitches.
The Phoenix Mercury, with which she lost to Chicago Sky in the championship final last season, can continue to pay Griner in full, without this money being counted in the squad’s salary cap. So far, the WNBA had held back with public actions. Reportedly, this was done out of concern for making things worse for Griner.
As the Interfax news agency reported in early March, citing Russian customs, so-called vape cartridges and hashish oil were said to have been discovered in the American’s luggage during an inspection in February.
According to the information, you face five to ten years in prison. The 31-year-old US international has also played for the UMMC Yekaterinburg team in the Urals since 2015. Griner won the Euroleague four times with the top Russian club.
