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Summary
- Moscow extends Brittney Griner’s detention until May 19
- The 31-year-old is reportedly doing well in prison
- The US fears that Griner could be used as “high-profile hostage”
U.S Olympic champ Brittney Griner will remain behind bars in Russia until May 19. The US basketball star has been accused of bringing drugs into the country.
For the first time since her arrest in February 2022, Griner was seen appearing before a Moscow courthouse on 17 March where she pleaded not guilty to smuggling cannabis vape pens into the country.
The short clip, reportedly taken from the courthouse but is still unverified, was published by a Russian news outlet.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, the court ruled that Griner’s detention should be extended for at least two more months. It reported further that the 31-year-old is doing well at an unnamed prison, sharing a cell with two other women without previous convictions, as relayed by Russia’s Public Monitoring Commission.
Griner’s only complaint was about the small Russian bed which she sleeps on and this does not come as a surprise as she is 6’9. Griner’s legal team reportedly appealed to have her transferred to house arrest during Thursday’s hearing but the court denied the appeal. According to a source that has direct information on Griner’s situation, her legal team has visited her numerous times a week throughout the course of her stay behind bars.
Griner’s Achievements as Basketball Player
Griner is a two-time Olympic champion playing for Team USA. She currently plays for Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). During the league’s offseason, she travels to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg. She’s been with the club since 2015 and throughout her stint, the club has won four EuroLeague Women championships, plus three domestic titles.
Griner has been receiving a yearly package of $1 million from Ekaterinburg, which is significantly higher than her $228,000 maximum annual salary with the WNBA. She is widely regarded among the best female basketball players in the world and is a 7x WNBA All-Star.
Russia Could Use Griner as “High-Profile Hostage“
If convicted of the drug charges filed against her, Griner will face up to 10 years in prison. The Biden administration has already assigned an embassy team to monitor Griner’s case, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
There are concerns that Griner could become a “high-profile hostage”, and that Russia could be using her as leverage amid sanctions imposed by the US and other Western countries against the country arising from its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
