President Joe Biden has underlined his determination to get Brittney Griner home after she was transferred to a Russian penal colony late last week.
Biden said at the White House on Wednesday afternoon: “We’ve been in regular contact and I’ve spent quite a bit of time with her wife about what’s going on with her.
“I think I hope that now that the elections are over, Mr. Putin will talk to us and be willing to talk more seriously about the prisoner exchange.
‘That’s my intention. My intention is to get her home. We have had a number of conversations so far. I hope that now that our elections are over, there is a willingness to engage in more specific discussions with us.’
Russia has previously spoken publicly with contempt of the United States referring to prisoner swapping. The US has made an offer to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Paul Whelan, who have been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on charges of espionage.
In late October, the Kremlin warned the United States that such discussions should be kept confidential.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a conference call on Oct. 26 that “we always say that all contacts about possible exchanges can only be conducted in silence under a tight lid on all information.”
Brittney Griner has been transferred to a Russian penal colony to serve a nine-year prison sentence after being arrested at a Moscow airport in February for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil
President Biden reaffirmed his determination to bring Griner back home on Wednesday
Conditions in Russia’s penal colonies are notoriously grim, with previous inmates describing ‘slave-like’ conditions
Earlier, Russia had said US officials would resort to “megaphone diplomacy” ahead of the midterm elections.
“There is a quiet diplomacy going on and it should pay off if Washington follows suit and doesn’t fall into propaganda through media hype to score points for the election,” said Ivan Nechayev, a spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs. August.
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for having vaped cartridges containing cannabis oil. She was sentenced to nine years in August and appealed the verdict in late October.
On Tuesday, in a move her family and supporters have feared, it emerged that the 32-year-old had begun a transfer to a penal colony.
Her whereabouts are currently unknown and could remain so for at least another two weeks. Her lawyers said on Wednesday that Russia generally sends reports of prisoner transformations by mail and that process takes two weeks.
ESPN, meanwhile, said Griner’s attorney and U.S. officials didn’t know she had been moved until Tuesday.
Griner’s agent said in an ESPN statement: “Our primary concern remains the health and well-being of BG.
Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, drinks water in a defendant’s cage following the court ruling in Khimki outside Moscow on Aug. 4.
WNBA player Griner has been arrested in Russia after officials found hash oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow, according to a New York Times report on Saturday, March 5.
“While we are going through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we are asking for the support of the public to continue writing letters and expressing their love and concern for her.”
Conditions in a penal colony are notoriously terrible. Noted Russian dissident Nadezhda Tolokonnikova described a 2013 camp as “slavery-like conditions,” where she worked “16 to 17 hours a day” in a sewing workshop while getting “four hours of sleep a night.”
And even when she’s allowed to rest, the 6-foot-tall Griner does so on a small bed in a cramped cell.
Others, such as former presidential candidate Alexei Navalny, have faced torture from sleep deprivation and isolation. In addition, the State Department has described the physical and sexual abuse of prisoners by guards as “systemic.”
Griner was last visited by US officials last Thursday, the day before her transfer began.
Russia has previously accused the US of “megaphone diplomacy” in an attempt to overthrow Griner. to liberate
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Griner pleaded guilty at her trial but said she made a “honest mistake” and was not intended to break the law.
She admitted that she had the jerry cans in her luggage, but testified that she accidentally packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intentions.
Her defense team made written statements that she had been given cannabis to treat pain.
Her arrest in February came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops to Ukraine. At the time, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, Griner returned to Russia, where she played during the off-season in the American league.
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