Brittney Griner and Wife Remember Americans Still Imprisoned Overseas One Year After Release

Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, have released a holiday message celebrating the one-year anniversary of Brittney’s release from incarceration in Russia and remembering the Americans still wrongly detained overseas.

“One year ago today, because of President Biden, his team and the support of many of you, our family was one of the 58 families made whole by this Administration,” the WNBA star and her wife wrote in the message, which was posted to Instagram.

“We must not forget that our work is not done,” they added. “There are Americans still wrongly detained in countries around the world, including Paul and Evan in Russia and several Americans in Venezuela.”

That was a reference to former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia since 2018, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March of this year. Both are accused of espionage and say they are innocent. The Biden administration recently made an offer to exchange several Russians suspected or convicted of espionage for Whelan and Gershkovich, but it was turned down.

The administration received some criticism for not managing to free Whelan when it won Griner’s release in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, but officials said Russia would accept a deal only for Griner.

Griner, center for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested in Russia in February 2022, when she arrived in the country to play for a Russian team during the WNBA off-season. She had a vape cartridge in her luggage with less than one gram of cannabis-derived oil; the drug is illegal in Russia. She said she had packed it by mistake. She was tried on drug charges, convicted, and sentenced to nine years in prison. She was freed from a labor camp December 8, 2022, after intense negotiations by the Biden administration.

Griner is writing a memoir about her detention and says she won’t play overseas again unless it’s in the Olympics.

The Griners wished “a joyous holiday” to recipients of their message but urged them to “share a story, send a letter or call a representative about one of the many Americans being held away from their families this holiday season.”