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Brittney GrinerEx-NBA star Rodman wants to free Olympic champion from Russian captivity
He is friends with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un and he is also on good terms with Russia’s Vladimir Putin: former basketball star Dennis Rodman. Now he’s trying to free Brittney Griner.
… and travel to Russia.
imago images/MediaPunch
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possession of so-called vape cartridges and hash oil.
AFP
According to a media report, ex-basketball star Dennis Rodman wants to travel to Russia and lobby Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of convicted basketball player Brittney Griner. “I got permission to travel to Russia to help the girl,” the 61-year-old was quoted as saying by the US broadcaster NBC News, who reportedly interviewed the athlete at a restaurant in Washington over the weekend. He did not say who should have given him this permission. He wants to leave this week. “I know Putin too well,” Rodman was further quoted as saying.
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possession of so-called vape cartridges and hashish oil and was sentenced to nine years in prison by a court in the Russian capital in early August. Internationally, the verdict triggered a wave of solidarity with the 31-year-old athlete. The basketball player reportedly appealed. The USA sharply criticized the decision of the Russian judiciary and demanded their release.
Rodman has a history of politically difficult trips: he once described North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un as a “friend for life”. He visited the isolated country several times. He wanted to bring the United States and North Korea together, Rodman emphasized at the time. It was never entirely clear whether Rodman’s visits and pleas really helped bring US prisoners back to freedom.
(here/dpa )
