Russia Extends Detention for WNBA Player Brittney Griner

WNBA player Brittney Griner continues to be detained in Russia and will reportedly remain in custody through the length of her trial. Griner was taken into custody on February 17 after airport officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage. Hash is illegal in Russia, and Griner was charged with “large-scale transportation of drugs.”

Griner briefly appeared in court on Monday. Her lawyer, Alexander Boikov, says no trial date was set, but he anticipates formal hearings will occur within a week or two.

The United States Government classified Griner as wrongfully detained on May 3, which means the government will negotiate her release. Despite this, State Department spokesperson Ned Price has says that, to his knowledge, no American diplomats have been able to access Griner since news of this custody extension. However, he stressed that the State Department continues its work to get regular access to U.S. detainees in Russia, including Griner and a man named Paul Whelan who has been in a Russian prison since 2018.

Amid the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict, there is thought that Griner may be used as a political pawn. A report in May suggested that Russia may be interested in trading Griner for Viktor Bout, a 25-year-old Russian man who is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States for selling arms to terrorists. United States officials have stated that this report may have been released to create the expectation among Griner’s supporters that a deal could be reached quickly.

Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian foreign minister, recommended that legal proceedings in Griner’s case be completed before a discussion about trading Griner for Bout takes place.

Griner’s wife and her teammates continue to be concerned for Griner and advocate for her release even as the WNBA season continues. Griner’s longtime teammate Diana Taurasi, says, “We’re here to do whatever we can to amplify and keep BG at the forefront, which is more important than any basketball game and anything else that’s going on in our lives. We want BG to come home as soon as possible; it’s number-one on our list.”

Photo courtesy of Brittney Griner on Instagram