Detained in Russia, American basketball player Brittney Griner appeals to Joe Biden
Basketball player Brittney Griner as she arrives at the Khimki court near Moscow on July 1, 2022. AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Detained in Russia since February, the women's basketball star wrote a letter to the American president to ask for his help as he approaches his trial, which opens Thursday in Moscow, for possession of cannabis oil.
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With our correspondent in Miami,
David Thomson
It's a poignant handwritten letter from Brittney Griner's loved ones to Joe Biden.
In their eyes, the White House is not doing enough for the basketball player.
The family therefore insisted on making certain extracts public.
"
I'm terrified of sitting here in a Russian prison forever
," wrote the two-time Olympic champion.
Alone with my thoughts, without the protection of my wife, my family, my friends and my Olympic jersey
.
In her letter, the American women's basketball star asks her president to do everything to free her.
“
Don't forget me,
implores the basketball player detained since February 17.
Please do everything you can to get me home.
I voted for you, I believe in you
.
I still have so much to accomplish with my freedom
”.
Accused of drug smuggling
Officially, the Russian authorities accuse him of drug smuggling.
The Phoenix Mercury player came to Russia in February to play there during the American offseason, a common practice for basketball players who sometimes earn a better living abroad than at home.
It was upon her arrival at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport that the two-time Olympic champion with the United States (2016, 2020) was arrested in possession, according to the charge, of vaporizers and a cannabis-based liquid .
But in the midst of a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Washington, against a backdrop of
war in Ukraine,
the affair is turning into a political impasse.
According to American media, Moscow could try to use Brittney Griner as a bargaining chip.
His trial opened on Friday July 1
behind closed doors.
She faces up to 10 years in prison.
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United States
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Joe Biden