Russia extends WNBA star Brittany Griner’s imprisonment until MAY
BREAKING: Russia extends WNBA star Brittany Griner’s imprisonment until MAY after she was arrested for smuggling cannabis vape pens into the country
Imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner’s confinement in Russian prison has been extended until May 19, Russian state media reported ThursdayGriner, 31 was arrested in February by Russian lawmen on suspicion of carrying a cannabis-filled vape into the country, and is being held in an unknown prisonOn Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region ruled to detain Griner for at least two more months‘The court granted the petition of the investigation and extended the term of U.S. citizen Griner’s detention until May 19,’ the outlet quoted the court as saying
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Imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner’s confinement in Russian prison has been extended until May 19, Russian state media reported Thursday.
Griner, 31, was arrested in February on an undisclosed date by Russian lawmen on suspicion of carrying a cannabis-filled vape on her way into the country, and is currently being held captive in an unknown facility on drug charges.
On Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region ruled to detain Griner, who had been traveling to the country to play for Russian Premier League side UMM Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, for at least two more months.
‘The court granted the petition of the investigation and extended the term of U.S. citizen Griner’s detention until May 19,’ the Kremlin-run outlet quoted the court as saying.
Imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner’s confinement in Russian prison has been extended until May 19, Russian state media reported Thursday. Here Griner is shown in her booking photo following her February arrest by Russian officials
On Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region ruled to detain Griner, who had been traveling to the country to play for Russian Premier League side UMM Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, for at least two more months. Here Griner is shown playing for UMM Ekaterinburg in 2019
The station further reported that Griner was doing well and being held under humane conditions at the unnamed prison, with a watchdog rep telling the outlet the Texas native was sharing a cell with two other women with no prior convictions, and that her only issue was the prison beds were too short for her 6’9″ frame.
‘The beds in the cell are clearly designed for a shorter person,’ activist Ekaterina Kalugina, a member of human rights watchdog Public Monitoring Commission – a semi-official body with access to Russian prisons – told the outlet.
According to TASS, Kalugina provided the network with the new details concerning Griner’s condition and incarceration,
She said the Phoenix Mercury ace has accepted the detention, and apart from the lacking sleeping situation, has not complained about the conditions on which she is being held.
Kalugina then told the outlet that Griner, A WNBA standout who’s incarceration has caught the attention of politicians and celebrities across the globe amid rising tensions between Western nations and Russia due to the war in Ukraine, has not received any visitors from the US consul during her several weeks of detainment.
Kalugina asserted that the detention center – which she still did not name – allows such visits, and seemed at a loss as to why the embassy had yet to arrange any meetings with Gringer.
‘In addition, for an unknown reason, the U.S. consul does not come to [see Griner], although the administration of the pre-trial detention center is ready to create all conditions for a visit,’ TASS quoted Kalugina as saying.
She went on: ‘[Griner’s cellmates] also had no previous convictions and are charged with drug-related [offenses]. They speak English and help Greiner communicate with the prison administration.’
Speaking on how Griner’s cellmates have been helping her during her stay in the facility, Kalugina said: ‘They helped her order books: she reads F. M. Dostoevsky and biography of the members of the Rolling Stones.’
Without identifying Griner, Russian Customs Service agents said earlier this month a player was detained in February, on an undetermined date, after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from New York.
The prisoner was then reported to be Griner by The New York Times, with TASS also identifying the Mercury center as the arrested party, citing a source.
The Phoenix Mercury team, without elaborating, said: ‘We are aware of and are closely monitoring the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia.’
A scan of the player’s luggage revealed cartridges containing ‘liquid with hashish oil’, according to the customs service.
A criminal case has since been opened into the alleged incident, which could see Griner handed a possible sentence of five to ten years in prison for the reported drug infraction.
A petition has since been launched demanding Griner’s return home on Change.org. It has garnered more than 63,000 signatures.
At a joint press conference with Moldova President Maia Sandu, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration had assigned an embassy team to work on Griner’s case.
Griner has won Olympic gold medals with the U.S. national teams in 2016 and 2021.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
