Officials from the US embassy in Moscow visited WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday, more than a week after a Russian court rejected her appeal of her nine-year sentence for drug possession.
State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote a tweet in which he mentioned that the US representatives “saw firsthand his tenacity and perseverance despite the current circumstances.”
Price said the Biden administration continues to push for the immediate release of Griner and Paul Whelan, who was sentenced in 550 to 16 years in prison in Russia on charges related to espionage that he and his family say are false and “fair treatment for every American detained ”.
The press secretary of the White House Karine Jean-Pierre said Griner “is doing the best that can be expected under the circumstances” and that the administration is working “to resolve the current unacceptable and unjust detentions” of Griner and Whelan.
Griner was sentenced in August after police said they found vape cans containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Her arrest in February came at a time of heightened tension between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops to Ukraine. At the time, Griner was playing for a Russian team again during the WNBA offseason.
She admitted at her trial that she had the cans in her luggage, but testified that she packed them unaware in his haste to catch his flight and that he had no criminal intentions. Her lawyers have described the punishment as excessive.
The United States considers Griner and Whelan unfair detainees and has been trying for months to negotiate with Russia for her release. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said over the summer that the United States had made a “substantial proposal” to Russia to try to secure their release, and President Joe Biden told relatives of Griner and Whelan in a White House meeting. in September that his administration was committed to bringing them home.
People familiar with the offer have said the United States had offered to release convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan.
There have been no external signs of progress since then in the negotiations.
Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the president to New Mexico that “despite the Russians’ lack of good faith negotiation, the United States government has continued to follow up on that offer and proposing alternative ways to move forward with Russia through all available channels. This remains a top priority.”
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· Follow the ordeal of the WNBA star Brittney Griner: Russian court rejects appeal and upholds conviction
Russian lawyers for WNBA player Brittney Griner appealed conviction of nine years in prison
· Who is Viktor Bout, ‘The Merchant of Death’ that the United States could exchange for Brittney Griner?