Biden responds to letter from basketball star jailed in Russia

US President Joe Biden wrote jailed WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner a draft response, which he read to her wife, Cherelle, during a phone call Wednesday.

Griner, whose Russian drug smuggling case will be heard again Thursday, wrote her letter to Biden on July 4, asking him to get her out of custody, where she fears she may be being held “forever.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been jailed since February 17 when a search of her luggage at an airport near Moscow uncovered banned vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Griner was in Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, where she had played regularly for several years during the WNBA offseason.

The White House initially acknowledged that Biden had read Griner’s letter but did not reveal how he responded to the document or whether he would respond to it, although it has now been confirmed that the American leader wrote a draft reply that was read to Griner’s wife . Cherelle.

“The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible.” said the White House in a statement detailing how Biden plans to bring others home “wrongly detained” US citizens like Paul Whelan, accused of espionage, returned from Russia.

“He also read her a draft of the letter the President is sending to Brittney Griner today,” it was added with Biden’s offer “his support for Cherelle and Brittney’s family” while you commit “to ensure they are provided with all possible support while his government pursues every opportunity to bring Brittney home.”

After her conversation with Biden, Cherelle Griner attended one “Bring BG Home Rally” at the Footprint Center, home of Brittney Griner’s Phoenix Mercury WNBA team.

“What and how I feel today is a deeper emotion than pain. I am frustrated.” Cherelle Griner saidclaims that the basketball player “wasn’t about to get justice.”

Just before her trial began last Friday in the Khimki City Court, just outside Moscow, Griner’s sentence was extended by a further six months to December 20, and she could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, when asked about the possibility of a prisoner exchange for Russian Viktor Bout, further steps in the Griner case should only be discussed after the trial has ended.

“It is clear that we have not completed the necessary legal proceedings. Until then, there are no nominal, formal, [or] procedural ground for further steps, not to mention everything else”, Ryabkov said Reporter.

In addition, Ryabkov criticized how the US relates to those convicted of serious crimes in Russia, as well as those awaiting the completion of investigations and court verdicts.

In his view, this shows how unwilling Washington is “to adequately perceive the world around us” and do it “difficult to engage in a factual discussion of different types of exchange” in front of such a backdrop.

The Kremlin denies allegations that Griner’s continued detention is politically motivated and says an exception to the law should not be made just because she is a foreigner.