WH Confirms US Basketball Player Griner Wrongfully Detained In Russia

Washington, May 4 : The Biden administration determined in coordination with US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens that US basketball player Brittney Griner is being wrongfully detained in Russia, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at a Moscow airport on February 18 after a police dog alerted officers to vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. “That is a determination we’d make in coordination with the hostage negotiator and the State Department,” Psaki said on Tuesday. Carstens will now handle Griner’s case but the Biden administration will not discuss the matter extensively amid efforts to guarantee her release, Psaki said. Griner was playing for the Russian basketball club UMMC Yekaterinburg during the off-season of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States. The next hearing in her case is scheduled for May 19. The WNBA said in a statement to Sputnik that is optimistic about Griner’s chances to return home. “Today’s news on Brittney Griner is a positive development and a next step to getting her home. The WNBA is in constant communication with the US government on Brittney’s case, working together to get her home safe and as soon as possible,” a WNBA spokesperson said. Last week, the Russian authorities released former US Marine Trevor Reed, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for attacking police officers, in exchange for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year prison sentence in the United States.