Brittney Griner met with representatives from the American embassy in Moscow on Thursday, according to officials, in the WNBA star’s first visit in months. Brittney Griner is now detained in Russia and is awaiting possible transfer to a prison camp.
President Joe Biden was travelling to New Mexico when White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We are told she is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.”
It was Griner’s first consular encounter since the two-time Olympic gold winner was convicted of drug possession and smuggling for bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia in early August. An appeal against her nine-year prison term was denied by a court last week.
Griner and fellow prisoner Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, have been discussed for exchange with a Russian arms dealer being held in the United States, but no agreement has been reached due to the rising tensions surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Griner, who was initially detained on February 17 at a Moscow airport, might be transferred to one of Russia’s network of prisoner labour camps in the absence of a swap or another appeal.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, wrote on Twitter that Griner’s Thursday visit by embassy representatives “saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances.”
According to Mr. Price, Washington is still demanding Griner and Whelan’s immediate release.