'I'm Terrified': WNBA Star Brittney Griner Sends Letter to President Biden from Russian Prison
President Joe Biden and the White House on Monday - America's Independence Day - received a letter from Russian detainee Brittney Griner, the legendary Baylor and WNBA star, asking the White House, "Please do all you can to bring us home.''
Griner's appeal for her freedom is expressed in a letter that includes excerpts released to the media. Included in her remarks: "I'm terrified I might be here forever."
"I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other detainees," she wrote. "Please do all you can to bring us home."
Griner has been in Russian custody for several months, stemming from her arrest at an airport.
The WNBA star allegedly had hash oil in a vape pen in her backpack at a Russian airport. Her trial - which as ESPN notes has been "described ... as a 'show trial' that is certain to end in a conviction and lengthy sentence'' - began Friday. The trial has been described by some as nothing more than a negotiating tactic by the Russian government designed to get Griner exchanged for a prisoner in U.S. custody. exchange her in a prisoner swap.
In the letter, Griner mentions her father's military service and writes, "On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those men who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran ... It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.''
