Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022 for cannabis vape cartridges.

She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

She was held in a penal colony in Mordovia.

She was released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout.

The swap exchanged Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The U.S. government pursued her release, led by President Biden.

The swap was a political bargaining chip amid U.S.-Russia tensions.

Griner endured harsh prison conditions, lacking hot water and limited toilets.

She described her detention as traumatic and isolating.

After release, she returned to the U.S. and resumed basketball.

She is healing mentally and physically after release.

She scored 18 points in her first 2023 game after returning.

Her return increased WNBA attendance by about 1,000 fans per game.

The incident prompted WNBA to improve player pay and travel standards.

The WNBA arranged charter flights for her after airport harassment.

She thanked supporters and wrote an open letter to President Biden.

She expressed gratitude for small moments and renewed appreciation for life.

She cut her locs to avoid harsh winter conditions.

She had no complaints about prison life.

She is a high-profile Black LGBTQ athlete.

Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022 for cannabis vape cartridges.

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Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

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A Russian court has sentenced Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison on drug charges

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Guilty was the verdict in Moscow today, and the sentence was severe. A Russian court gave American basketball star Brittney Griner nine years in prison. This was right after the judge convicted her of drug smuggling and possession over the small amount of hash oil she says she accidentally brought into the country. The sentence was just shy of the 9 1/2 years that the prosecution requested. All of this plays out against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and negotiations between the U.S. and Russia for a possible prisoner swap. NPR's Charles Maynes was at the courthouse and has our story.

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: It's been six full months since Brittney Griner was first detained while rushing to catch a flight at a Moscow airport as she arrived for Russian League play. Yet it took just one afternoon at a Moscow courthouse for the judge to rush through closing arguments and issue her verdict.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: As Griner sat in the cage listening through an interpreter, the judge said the basketball star had knowingly possessed and transported cannabis oil into Russia and should face nine years in prison as a result.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: "Do you understand the ruling," said the judge to a stone-faced Griner, who responded...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRITTNEY GRINER: Yes, I understand, Your Honor.

MAYNES: With the ruling, the judge rejected Griner's explanation that the substance, less than a gram of hash oil, was legally obtained in the U.S. through a doctor to treat chronic pain or that she had never intentionally violated Russian law, a point Griner emphasized in a final plea ahead of the ruling.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRINER: I made an honest mistake. And I hope that, in your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here.

MAYNES: She also expressed remorse that her actions had embarrassed her fans and teammates at her Russian club, UMMC of Yekaterinburg, where she's played for years.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRINER: Again, I want to apologize to my teammates and the organization, UMMC, for any damage that I may have done to them. I never intended on hurting them. This is my second home, and all I wanted to do is just win championships and make them proud.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: Following the ruling, Griner's lawyers said they would appeal a decision that defied sentencing norms even for Russians, who would themselves receive lighter sentences or possibly even probation. The defense team also expressed frustration that the court completely ignored their arguments for leniency based on Griner's contribution to Russian women's basketball, as well as procedural violation of Griner's rights during her arrest. After the hearing, Griner's lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, acknowledged that while her client did not expected miracles, the shock of a nine-year sentence still lingered with all of them.

MARIA BLAGOVOLINA: We feel disappointment. You know, when we saw Brittney, I think it was Tuesday. And we told her, see you on Thursday. And she said, see you on doomsday. So looks like she was right.

MAYNES: It appears a legal case that has unfolded against the backdrop of plummeting U.S.-Russian relations over the conflict in Ukraine now moves entirely into the political arena. President Biden immediately issued a statement condemning the ruling. And outside the courthouse, the U.S. Embassy's deputy chief of mission, Elizabeth Rood, said the U.S. government would keep fighting to free Griner and other detained Americans in Russia.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELIZABETH ROOD: This is a miscarriage of justice. The U.S. Department of State has determined that Ms. Griner was wrongfully detained. Nothing in today's decision changes that determination.

MAYNES: The White House has already acknowledged it made a substantial proposal to Russia to free Griner and another American, former Marine Paul Whelan. It's reported that the U.S. would be willing to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, currently in a prison in Illinois. The Kremlin has suggested closed-door negotiations might yield results once Griner's trial was over but said the talks shouldn't be public. But now that that's the case, and Grinder's nine-year sentence a reality, the price of what Moscow seeks in these negotiations may very well have gone up. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Content: Houston’s mayor on Brittney Griner’s return

With help from Jesse Naranjo, Ella Creamer, Jesús Rodríguez and Teresa Wiltz

What up, Recast family! WNBA star Brittney Griner is home on U.S. soil, Congress passes the Respect For Marriage Act and surprise! Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announces she’s leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent. First, though, a chat with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is now safely back in the United States, relieving the collective anxiety of millions of Americans, including the longtime Democratic mayor of Houston.

Sylvester Turner marked the end of Griner’s 10-month detainment in Russia by ordering City Hall illuminated in red, white and blue to mark what he called “United States proud” of what the president and the nation were able to accomplish.

Griner, a Houston native who stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall and is a standout with the Phoenix Mercury and the women’s professional basketball club UMMC Ekaterinburg, was released in a controversial prisoner swap on Thursday.

The Biden administration says it had no choice and that it was a one-or-none deal.

In exchange for her release, President Joe Biden granted clemency for Viktor Bout, whose nickname is the “Merchant of Death.”

Some, including many Republicans, felt the Biden administration gave up too much, arguing the exchange of a pro ball player for a convicted Russian arms dealer was not an even trade, especially if the trade didn’t include Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has been held captive in Russia on allegations of espionage since 2018.

Turner, however, would rather focus on the positives, arguing that the Griner ordeal brought many Americans together for a common goal: bringing her home safely.

We talk about this, plus how history will be made next week when Mayor-elect Karen Bass is sworn into office in Los Angeles. Her ascension marks the first time the nation’s four largest cities, New York, L.A., Chicago and Houston, will all have Black mayors serving simultaneously.

◆◆◆

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: As mayor you’ve helped lead city officials in keeping Brittney Griner’s plight front of mind for your city. Why was this important for you?

TURNER: She is from the Houston region and played at Baylor [in Waco, Texas, about a three hour commute northwest of Houston]. And I mean, she is a super star in this area.

I do want to give a lot of credit to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) because, I tell you, she was front and center helping to keep Brittney Griner’s name alive and didn’t want anybody to forget. I want to give a lot of credit to President Biden and his whole team.

THE RECAST: I feel like a lot of folks who maybe don't pay too close attention to geopolitics were certainly engaged with this story because of who she is. Not just her celebrity as a basketball star, but because she’s a Black woman, a Black LGBTQ woman. Do you think Griner’s ordeal helped more people of color get familiar, or those who don’t follow global events as closely, to gain a better understanding of international affairs?

Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics.

Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at [email protected].

TURNER: No. 1, she is one of our own from the Houston area. No. 2, she is a Black woman. In this case she’s a member of the LGBTQ community; she has a wife here in the United States.

When you consider all of those dynamics, she represents the diversity of America, and certainly represents the diversity of this city on multiple levels.

Whether it was women, African Americans, people from the LGBT community, people from the sports arena, who are all lifting her up — in this time of global conflict between Russia and Ukraine — that heightened the importance of this moment and wanting to see her released. So when you have all of these dynamics coming together and on one accord, the voices are even louder.

What we did see is that as people were asking for the release of Brittney Griner, people were also asking for the release of Paul Whelan. It’s my hope and prayer that the attention that has been given to her will continue on Paul Whelan.

THE RECAST: Switching gears here. We’re on the precipice of history, having Black mayors lead the nation’s four largest cities. Put this moment in perspective.

TURNER: It is historic on one hand, it’s inspirational on the other. It does reflect just how far this country has come.

[These are] four cities that are really leading the growth of the GDP of this country in terms of being economic drivers — major cities where major things are happening on multiple fronts, and cities that are global in nature. These are cities that attract people from all over the world, businesses from all over the world, development from all over the world, and investments.

And I don't want to minimize all the other African American mayors, because when you look from D.C. to Seattle, from Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, ... all over the map, African Americans are leading major cities and I think when you view us collectively, it is more than a third of the GDP of the United States.

THE RECAST: That’s an interesting point. The history-making element here is not the fact that you are all Black, because none of the big four is the first Black mayor to serve their respective city. It's the fact that you are all serving simultaneously.

I've noticed, too, that all four are leading cities where Latinos are or are close to being the largest minority populations.

TURNER: At first glance, people may say, “OK, these cities must be majority Black, or close to being majority Black.” That is not the case. New York, Chicago, L.A., Houston are highly diverse. We say Houston is the most diverse city in the United States.

About 25 percent of the people in the city come from outside of the United States, 40 percent of the city is Hispanic. We have a growing Asian population. … So you can’t just say, “OK, I'm going to ride the African American vote, and that's gonna get me to victory.” No, we live in pluralistic societies, and in order to be successful you are going to have to build coalitions.

THE RECAST: How do you walk that fine line, though, making sure your policies cater to everyone, but also that you are showing deliverables for Black constituents that supported your candidacy? As you know, sometimes elected officials who are Black find themselves being questioned by Black constituents, sort of like, “What have you done for us?”

TURNER: You are exactly correct.

As the former chair of the African American Mayors Association, I will tell you, we had these conversations all the time. African Americans who have been in their communities that have been overlooked, whether it's been a lack of investment for decades, they want to see things happen very quickly.

They don't give African Americans, you know, a long runway.

Because they place their trust in us. And they believe, “Mayor, you ought to be sensitive, you ought to recognize the fact that we've been overlooked, underserved … so fix it now.”

Now, having said that, there are certain things that run across ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

So the Complete Communities initiative was intended to focus on highly diverse neighborhoods, where resources hadn't flown. So you're meeting the needs of African Americans in a direct way, but you're also meeting the needs of Hispanics and Asians and immigrants and refugees in similar situations, for example, in the southwest part of the city of Houston, what we call the Gulfton area. That’s where there are more than 70 languages being spoken. So you can, in a very intentional way, meet the needs of African Americans without overlooking the needs of others in your city.

THE RECAST: So you're talking about being deliberate in your actions.

TURNER: Well, you have to, because, rightfully or wrongfully, some people — not all — are going to come in thinking: “OK, you just got to be the mayor of Black folk.”

And I tell people, “Life is not fair. OK?” But you have to learn, as my mom would say, to navigate through it. We do have to be intentional. At the same time, it doesn't mean that you run away from Black folk.

As African American mayors, we have to navigate many waters. What I would say to all of the mayors [who are less tenured than me] Karen Bass, Eric Adams, Lori Lightfoot … we’re under more scrutiny, from all different arenas. We have to perform every day. We have to be at our best every day. We have to be very intentional in our representation every day. And that's not fair, OK. But those are the realities.

THE RECAST: You revealed last month your cancer diagnosis but that you are cancer free. Talk to me about why you announced the way you did.

TURNER: My State of the City address was on Nov. 3 and I didn't intend to discuss it, to be honest with you.

But we were talking about resilience. And the city has faced several federally declared disasters over the years. And I was making the point that we bounce back each and every time. And then something hit me and I said to myself, “Sylvester, part of resilience is what you’ve gone through.”

So that's when I decided to talk about it.

[When I got the diagnosis of osteosarcoma], I had to say to myself, “Alright joker, why not you? You may be the mayor, but you’re not immune. You’ve walked other people through storms, now you gotta walk yourself through.”

◆◆◆

OK, fam! Enjoy your Friday. A quick reminder that we are taking your submissions for the 2023 Recast Power List. Let us know who YOU think is shaking up, influencing and disrupting politics as usual. Send us your thoughts here

New Rules of Work If you missed it this week, our colleagues at Women Rule held a summit on the new rules of the workplace. Go deeper with some of those conversations here.

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Party Switch — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who has a flair for flexing an independent streak that at times vexes her Democratic colleagues, announces she’s officially registering as an independent. POLITICO’s Burgess Everett dishes on what this means.

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Content: - The Washington Times - Friday, July 1, 2022

As pressure mounts on President Biden to take more aggressive action to get Moscow to release jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner, the international chatter increasing points to a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russian media and Bout’s lawyer, Steve Zissou, say Russian officials want to secure Bout’s release and that Griner, who has been locked up in Russia since February, could be part of a deal.

“I would be surprised if any American was repatriated without Viktor Bout also being sent home to his family,” Zissou told The Washington Times.

Bout is serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison. He was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, delivering anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization, charges his lawyer disputes.

Another detained American, former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in 2018, could also be part of a prisoner swap for Bout.

Mr. Zissou said the deal would likely have to include Bout. The lawyer met last month with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, who said that freeing Bout “was Russia’s number one priority,” according to Mr. Zissou.

Griner, meanwhile, made her first appearance in court on Friday and was accused of possessing “a significant amount of cannabis oil,” which is a banned substance in Russia. She faces likely conviction and a decade in prison when her trial resumes on July 7.

Griner, 31, was arrested at the airport in Moscow on Feb. 17 for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with hashish oil. She was visiting the country to play for a Russian basketball team after the conclusion of the WNBA season.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Griner is being held as a political pawn, The Associated Press reported.

“The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited medication containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. “In view of what I’ve said, it can’t be politically motivated.”

Still, Russia’s desire to free Bout complicates matters for Mr. Biden, who is weathering intense criticism for failing to secure the release of Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Dozens of organizations, including women’s and LGBTQ groups, have pressed Mr. Biden to step up efforts to secure Griner’s release. They called on the president “to make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”

While Bout’s lawyer disputes the charges against him, Bout was convicted of far more serious crimes than Griner’s drug charge, which could make it difficult for the Biden administration to agree to a swap.

Griner’s high-profile detainment comes at a historically difficult point in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Griner was arrested just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine on February 24.

The U.S. has condemned the invasion and responded by providing Ukraine with weapons and other support to defend itself from Mr. Putin’s forces.

With Griner in detention, Russian officials are now intensifying efforts to secure the release of Bout, whose targeting and conviction by the United States has long been viewed as an attack on Russian sovereignty.

Russian media is reporting that a swap for Bout is on the table.

“Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass news reported, citing an unnamed Russian source.

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” Bout was convicted in 2011 in a U.S. government sting operation of planning to smuggle arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The witnesses hired to portray FARC told Bout the arms would be used to target U.S. military serving in Colombia.

Bout, 55, is about five years from completing his sentence and is in failing health, his lawyer said.

Mr. Zissou said he is trying to elevate the circumstances surrounding his client’s case to improve his appeal as a candidate for a prisoner swap.

The U.S. targeted Bout while he was living in Moscow and retired from running an air transport company that also smuggled arms from one country to another.

The U.S. government paid more than $10 million to criminals as part of the operation to catch Bout.

“Entrapment is exactly what happened,” Mr. Zissou said.

Mr. Zissou said exchanging Griner for Bout is “a no brainer,” because his client will be freed in a few years regardless.

Last week, Russian officials extended Griner’s pretrial detention by six months. With Russia’s acquittal rate in criminal cases at less than 1%, it’s unlikely she will be able to return to the U.S. without a prisoner exchange.

Pressure is also on Mr. Biden to also secure the release of Mr. Whelan, 52, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison camp.

“It’s certainly conceivable that a swap for Whelan and Bout gets agreed to, and then at the end of Griner’s trial, if she’s convicted, she just gets pardoned and sent home,” Mr. Zissou said.

In a statement provided to The Times, the State Department declined to provide details about the talks to free Griner.

“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” a State Department spokesman said. “The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. The U.S. government will continue to provide appropriate support to Griner and her family. We will continue to press for her release.”

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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Content: ‘She brings light’: Brittney Griner’s triumphant return to the WNBA

Prior to being detained in a Russian prison for 294 days, Brittney Griner was on top of the world.

The 32-year-old was coming off one of the best WNBA seasons of her career. She was the Most Valuable Player runner-up, averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Phoenix Mercury, who she led back to the WNBA finals for the first time since winning the title in 2014. Meanwhile, Griner was on her way to play for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg, who she had led to four EuroLeague titles since she started spending her WNBA off-seasons there in 2014.

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At the time of her arrest Griner was, according to the testimony of her Russian teammate Evgenia Belyakova, “the most beloved player in Russia.”

To become such a popular figure in both America and Russia is no easy task for a gay, Black woman. But Griner’s ascent was never easy. She was bullied relentlessly growing up, first for her size and later for her sexuality, becoming one of the first active athletes in professional North American sports to come out as gay, shortly after being drafted No 1 overall by the Mercury in 2013.

In her first game as a pro, the 6ft 9in Griner towered over her opponents, changing the perceptions of what a female basketball player was capable of when she set a WNBA record with two dunks in a game. Griner went on to win a WNBA title, two Olympic gold medals, and seven WNBA All-Star appearances, on pace to achieve a level of greatness few ever have in the women’s game, and being marketed accordingly.

In fact, Griner was the first openly gay athlete to be endorsed by Nike. And the WNBA used her at the center of its marketing, acknowledging that gay athletes and LGBTQ+ activists like Griner were good for business.

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So when it all came crashing down at a Moscow airport on 17 February 2022, when Griner was found with vape cartridges containing traces of hashish oil in her luggage, not only did her career come to a screeching halt, but the league that she had been bound to since 2013 lost some of its forward momentum, too. She was later sentenced to nine years in Russian prison.

As much as Griner tried to stay positive, and as much as the WNBA community tried to help, a cloud hung over the entire 2022 season – one that would not dissipate until Griner was released and returned to America.

“Last year, it felt as though we couldn’t play with joy … It felt bad for us to be happy or to celebrate things because the weight of BG’s wrongful detainment weighed over us,” says former Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard.

When the US negotiated a prisoner swap to secure Griner’s freedom last December, she almost immediately announced her intention to return to the WNBA in 2023, signing a one-year deal with the Mercury. But nobody knew what to expect from Griner, who had spent almost a year under arduous physical and mental conditions.

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But, against all odds, Griner appears to be back to her normal self, on and off the court.

Related: WNBA power lies with two superteams. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing

In her first WNBA game in 579 days, Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. In her first home game a couple of days later, she hit just the seventh three-pointer of her career, yelling “I’m back!” to the crowd of 14,000 cheering fans.

“I appreciate everything a little more,” Griner said about being back in the league. “All the little, small moments that I used to just [think]: ‘Oh, I’m so tired, I don’t want to go to practice today. And, oh, this and that.’ That has changed, honestly. Just appreciating everything because tomorrow’s not guaranteed.”

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Griner is averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.4 blocks on a career-high 61.8% shooting through her first nine games of the 2023 season. She is back to being the Mercury’s best player, dominating in the post over swarms of defenders and blocking everything that comes her way on the other end of the floor. After being an honorary All-Star selection last season, Griner was named an All-Star starter on Sunday.

But what may be even more impressive is the enthusiasm and spirit she has brought to the Mercury and the WNBA, constantly flashing her trademark smile, joking around at press conferences, and uplifting her teammates at every opportunity.

“We were all hoping that she was going to be OK coming back, and that she did not lose her light, and she really didn’t,” says Mercury forward Megan Gustafson, adding that Griner’s presence has transformed the locker room. “I think we were a little bit surprised, because anyone that goes through an experience like that – I mean, I couldn’t even imagine being the same person. But she really is and I’m just so proud of her and just the light that she brings again … It’s really just her light, her positivity that [has] shone through.”

Sandy Brondello, who coached Griner in Phoenix for eight seasons prior to moving on to New York, is also glowing about the player’s return to the WNBA. “It’s like sometimes we sweat having a bad game – she was in prison,” says Brondello. “She had to live in prison for such a long time. So I think she has that joy. Just go out there and play.”

Griner has brought a lot of attention to the WNBA, which was already growing rapidly. Not only is the league averaging almost 1,000 more fans a game in Griner’s return season, but its broadcasts have also hit record viewership numbers – up 49% from last season across ESPN networks.

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“I think that if you look at last season, there was something and someone missing in the WNBA and that was obviously Brittney Griner,” former WNBA MVP and Griner’s one-time UMMC Ekaterinburg teammate Breanna Stewart says. “So the ability to have her back here kind of makes our circle complete, because she is such a force and a presence on and off the court and her ability to kind of be so dominant and aggressive but also such a kind, caring person – everybody’s missed that.”

Griner’s on-court play cannot be separated from her political advocacy off it, especially in a league as socially active as the WNBA. And Griner’s imprisonment has forced the WNBA to reckon with its lackluster treatment of athletes in the past, forcing the league to improve pay and travel standards so that the Griner situation does not repeat itself.

After all, the primary reason that Griner was in Russia in the first place is because her salary at UMMC Ekaterinburg is over $1m compared to the $165,100 she will make this year in the WNBA. In fact, 67 of the league’s 144 players still played internationally last off-season despite Griner’s detainment. Doing so is a financial necessity rather than a choice for most of the world’s best female basketball players.

The incident also highlighted concerns about commercial travel for WNBA players, many of whom are gay, Black women who can be targets of abuse. In fact, Griner has already been harassed this season when a conservative media personality confronted her and her teammates inside a Dallas airport in mid-June.

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In the past, the league has argued that charter flights create an unfair competitive advantage for teams that can afford to pay for them, fining the New York Liberty $500,000 for chartering flights last season. But the WNBA has already made improvements this season, allowing private flights for back-to-back games and for all playoff games. And after the news of Griner’s harassment and the pressure that came from it, the league recently announced that teams are permitted to fly on a public chartering service called JSX for the rest of the season.

It’s a step in the right direction that may not have been possible if not for Griner – a singular force who is as easy to galvanize around because of her on-court performances as she is for her personality. The league still has a long way to go in regards to growing the game and improving standards for its athletes, but Griner’s return has undoubtedly expedited the process.

“It’s a shame that it had to get to rock bottom. Because I feel like waiting for something to happen and then making a change, you don’t know what that something’s gonna be,” Griner said. “We’ve all seen what can happen in this world. And when you play the ‘let’s wait and see game,’ you’re really playing with fire. You’re playing with people’s lives.

“So I’m glad that they finally got it together and are going to allow us to do this. It’s just a shame that it took so damn long.”

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Content: The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.

American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February. She has been facing drug possession charges for carrying vape cartridges in her luggage that contained cannabis oil. The charges carry a potential sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges in Russian court Thursday, while stressing that she had packed in a hurry and not intended to break Russian law. Regardless of Thursday’s plea, observers have not expected Griner to receive justice in the Russian legal system.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, has accurately called her a “political pawn” caught up in the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Russia amid the latter’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. There should be little doubt that Griner’s detention is bigger than vape cartridges.

With frustrations increasingly being voiced by Griner’s family that President Joe Biden and his administration haven’t been doing enough to help her, Griner sent a letter to Biden on Monday asking for assistance for herself and other American detainees. For example, Paul Whelan, who also previously served in the Marines, was accused of being a spy and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote in her July 4 letter to Biden.

Marine veteran Trevor Reed knows a thing or two about what Griner and Whelan are going through. Reed was detained in Russia for three years before being released in April as part of a prisoner exchange.

“There is no justice in Russia,” Reed told CNN in June. “Brittney and Paul will not receive justice in Russia. They’re not going to receive a fair trial, they will not receive a fair investigation. They will be there as hostages until the United States gets them out.”

He added that Griner was likely to be treated worse in Russia because of her race and sexual orientation, saying that the country “systematically discriminates” against Black and LGBTQ+ people.

There is only so much the Biden administration can do with Griner in the custody of an authoritarian government known for making examples out of political prisoners, and likely looking for a bargaining chip as it continues its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Though as demonstrated by Reed’s release, there are options. It must not take three years.

At the very least, for now, Biden and his team can control how they communicate and reassure Griner’s family. And on that front, it seems the administration had been coming up short.

Griner’s family and friends had criticized the Biden administration’s handling of her case, and called for the president to meet with them. On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris finally had a phone call with Cherelle Griner.

“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement after the call. “He also read her a draft of the letter the president is sending to Brittney today.”

That statement also noted that top administration officials have already had calls with Cherelle Griner in recent weeks, and said Biden has directed his national security team to stay in “regular contact” with the Griner family. A U.S. diplomat said they delivered Biden’s letter to Griner at Thursday’s proceedings.

Biden’s call with Griner’s wife was an initial step, and the ultimate goal must be a quick release for Griner and other political prisoners. There is much work left for the administration to do, including a continual commitment to assure Griner’s family that the U.S. is exploring all possible options to secure her release. And hopefully the attention will elevate the pressure to help return other Americans like Whelan as well.

“Write them, call them, annoy them, don’t leave them alone,” Reed said in June about pressuring federal representatives to act. “Tell them you want Brittney home and you want the rest of the Americans who are being wrongfully detained home, and you want it done now.”

Add us to the list of people looking to raise the pressure on the Biden administration to bring home wrongfully detained Americans like Griner, who are essentially hostages, and to bring them home quickly.

The BDN Editorial Board

The Bangor Daily News editorial board members are Publisher Richard J. Warren, Editorial Page Editor Susan Young, Assistant Editorial Page Editor Matt Junker and BDN President Todd Benoit. Young has worked...

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The most unequal prisoner exchange in history.
On December 8, the United States and Russia struck a prisoner deal, not a prisoner exchange in war, nor an exchange of captured spies between the two countries, but a notorious arms dealer in exchange for a civilian who was not involved in politics, military or intelligence, making it perhaps the most unequal prisoner exchange in history.
U.S. women's professional basketball team Phoenix Mercury team center Greiner, in February this year at the Moscow airport was found to be carrying cannabis oil e-cigarette bombs, and was detained, delayed for more than four months in early July officially began, in August to give a nine-year sentence.
In fact, it was reported in mid-May that the Biden administration wanted to swap prisoners with Russia, and that Moscow had proposed the choice of Bout, an arms dealer who had been sentenced to 25 years and had served 10 years.
Before Grener ’ s sentence was confirmed, President Biden agreed to exchange Boot for Grener and Weren, an American spy who was sentenced to 16 years in prison two years ago, but Russia also demanded the release of Krasikov, a Russian who had stabbed Chechen officer Kankashvili in the eyes of Moscow.
Perhaps due to the extensive and complex considerations of the two-to-two prisoner swap, the final deal was to exchange Bout for Greiner.
Although this is a one-on-one exchange of prisoners, due to the different identities of the two people and the wide gap between the crimes, I think this may be the most unfair transaction.
First of all, the United States handed over Bout, a notorious arms dealer, whose story is the root of the film "King of Arms" script.
Bute was originally of Ukrainian descent and was a professional soldier who was fluent in many languages.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he retired, became a Russian citizen, and relied on military-to-military relations to establish a personal shipping enterprise.
He is known as a "sanctions kicker" because he sold many deadly weapons to countries with serious civil conflicts such as Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola in Central Africa. He was also known as a "Death Dealer" because of the deaths of many civilians caused by these weapons. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Greener ’ s crime was supposed to be a misdemeanor, but Russia deliberately sentenced him to nine years in prison in order to increase the bargaining chip for the prisoner exchange.
First, she is indeed a high-profile female basketball star, not only won the Best Defensive Player award for three consecutive years in college, but also won four major championships in college, U.S. women's basketball, international women's basketball and Olympic women's basketball.
Second, during her free time in the U.S. women ’ s professional basketball, Greiner also played overseas, including China ’ s Zhejiang Golden Bull team and Russia ’ s Ikaterinburg, which made her famous in Russian sports and explained why she would enter and leave Russia.
Finally, Greener ’ s triple (female, African American, gay) identity is something that the Democratic government must address.
These three groups are an important foundation of Democratic support. In the presidential election two years ago, Biden received 57% of the female vote, compared with 42% for Trump; Biden received 90% and 81% respectively of the African-American and gay voters.
After the midterm elections, the Democratic government took advantage of the fact that it still enjoys a parliamentary majority and passed the Respect for Marriage Act, hoping to protect gay marriage before the Supreme Court overturns the original ruling that gay marriage is legal.
It would obviously make the bill somewhat ironic if Mr. Greener had not been free.
He does not deny that both Greiner and Bout are high-profile prisoners, but judging from the crimes committed by the two, the prisoner exchange, perhaps because of high political considerations, is arguably the most unequal case in history.
(The author is also a researcher at the National Center for Political Science.)
Biden Democratic Party of Russia
The last one.
China ’ s economy is as bad as it gets this year.
The next one.
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Russian court sentences Brittney Griner to 9 years, raising pressure on Biden

A Russian court Thursday sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony after convicting her on a drug charge, a harsh penalty that keeps her fate entwined with the geopolitical showdown over the war in Ukraine and ramps up already intense pressure on President Joe Biden to win her release.

The U.S. government contends that she is among several Americans who have been “wrongfully detained” by Russia, used as bargaining chips in the increasingly hostile relationship between Moscow and Washington. The Biden administration has offered a prisoner swap involving Griner, but Russian officials said it was premature to discuss a deal while her case was underway.

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Now that the trial is concluded, Biden faces a difficult choice between standing firm on his proposal to trade for Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, or sweetening the offer somehow, with either position liable to draw domestic criticism.

Meanwhile the Kremlin can use them as leverage, with no incentive to resolve the cases quickly. Griner’s supporters, voicing horror at the verdict and sentence, are clamoring for the president to do something, while the administration is wary of giving in to Russian tactics it has all but labeled blackmail.

“My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” Biden said in a statement after the verdict.

Griner, 31, one of her sport’s biggest global stars, sat mostly expressionless, eyes downcast, leaning her long frame toward the bars of the defendant’s box in a cramped courtroom outside Moscow to hear as the words of the judge, Anna Sotnikova, were quietly translated for her. She had already pleaded guilty, and conviction is all but certain in Russian courts, so the verdict was a foregone conclusion; the real question was about sentencing.

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The answer was devastating. The sentence was near the 10-year maximum for her conviction for attempting to smuggle narcotics into the country, based on two vape cartridges containing hashish oil found in Griner’s luggage when she arrived in February, a week before President Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces to Ukraine.

She and her legal team had hoped for a more lenient penalty based on her guilty plea, her statement that she had not meant to take the cartridges to Russia, and testimony that she used the substance legally in the United States to manage pain.

“I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here,” she said before the sentencing.

She told the court that while she took responsibility for her actions, “I had no intent to break Russian law.” She said that after recovering from a bout of COVID, she had packed hurriedly to rejoin the Russian team she plays for in the WNBA offseason, and had accidentally left the cartridges in her luggage.

Griner’s defense team called the ruling “absolutely unreasonable,” said the court had “completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea,” and vowed to appeal. Elizabeth Rood, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, attended the court session and called the result “a miscarriage of justice.”

Russian officials have insisted that Griner’s case is simply the justice system running its course, with no political overtones — a claim that their U.S. counterparts and many Western analysts dismissed as absurd.

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William Pomeranz, a Russia expert and acting director of the Kennan Institute, a research group in Washington, noted that Griner was sentenced not to a prison but to a penal colony, which tends to mean a more remote location — many are in Siberia — and harsher conditions.

“She’s probably going to go to a penal colony that’s in the middle of Russia where she won’t know anybody,” he added. “They won’t be able to come and visit. Penal colonies can sometimes be very severe. It will be a tremendous test of her mental state if she ends up going to a penal colony.”

The United States has few options, he said. “It will just depend on the Russians and how fast they want to make a deal.”

Fellow basketball players, male and female, and basketball executives took to social media to voice support for Griner and grief at the verdict. Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, said in a statement: “We remain heartbroken for her, as we have every day for nearly six months. We remain grateful to and confident in the public servants working every day to return her to her family and us.”

With Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the indiscriminate destruction it has caused, relations between Washington and Moscow are more confrontational and bitter than they have been in decades. The United States has rallied the West to send arms and other aid to Ukraine, and to punish Moscow with economic sanctions, looking for opportunities to ratchet up the pressure.

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The two sides have made prisoner exchanges before, most recently in April, when Russia released Trevor Reed, an American held on what his family said was a bogus assault charge, in return for a Russian pilot convicted in the United States of cocaine trafficking charges. But rarely have proposed swaps come amid such tension, or involved anyone as prominent as Griner.

In a sign of how high the stakes are for Washington, Griner’s fate was among the topics discussed last Friday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in their first direct conversation since before the invasion.

The Biden administration has offered to trade Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence for a 2011 conviction on a federal charge of conspiring to sell weapons to people posing as terrorists intent on killing Americans. Whelan, detained in Russia since 2018, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years.

Russia made an unspecified “bad faith” counteroffer, the White House said Monday, which U.S. officials said they did not consider serious.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, told reporters Thursday, “I don’t think it would be helpful to Brittney or to Paul for us to talk more publicly about where we are in the talks and what the president might or might not be willing to do.”

“Conversations are ongoing at various levels,” he added.

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If Biden sticks to his initial offer, he could face accusations of not doing enough.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and other supporters have mounted an effective public campaign to pressure the president to win her release. Supporters worry about her treatment in a country where anti-American and anti-gay vitriol are deeply embedded in popular views and official propaganda. Images of a grim-faced Griner being led, handcuffed, in and out of court, towering over her armed guards, have become commonplace in U.S. and international media.

The administration could make a more attractive offer, but U.S. officials already worry that deals for prisoners could encourage hostile foreign governments to detain Americans on trumped-up charges in exchange for concessions like freeing their own wrongdoers. Some Republicans have already complained that Biden’s existing offer creates such an incentive.

A 6-foot-9 center, Griner won a college national championship with Baylor in 2012, a WNBA championship with the Mercury in 2014, Olympic gold medals with the U.S. team at the 2016 and 2020 games, and four EuroLeague championships with the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg. Like many players in the WNBA, where salaries are much lower than in the NBA, Griner — who also played one season for a professional team in China — has played overseas to supplement her income.

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Content: games

Why Isn’t Brittney Griner the Biggest Sports Story in the Country?

Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The second-best player in every sport is a superstar at a level that 99.999 percent of professional athletes — who are already the elite of the elite of the elite — will never come close to achieving. Joel Embiid finished second in NBA MVP voting last year; in baseball (a sport once actively played in this country), it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; and in football, it was Tom Brady.

In the WNBA, the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner earned this distinction last year. She was second in scoring, sixth in rebounds, first in blocks (she’s on track to become the WNBA’s all-time leader in that category), and, according to most advanced metrics, the best offensive player in the league. Her résumé is glittering: She won an NCAA national championship for Baylor in 2012, the same year she captured college basketball’s Player of the Year Award. She then won a WNBA championship in 2014 and was selected as one of the best 25 players in league history in 2021. She has two Olympic gold medals to her name. In the gold-medal game against Japan in Tokyo last summer, she dominated, scoring 30 points to clinch an easy victory. She is the apex of her sport. She is the best of the best. She is a legend.

And for more than a month now, she has been in the custody of the Russian government. Yet until Russian officials released a statement over the weekend saying they had detained Griner after finding hashish oil in her airport bag, it seemed that nobody had noticed. And the reaction since the arrest has been stunningly quiet. One of the greatest athletes in American sports — a gold-medal winner, a superstar, a champion — was arrested in a dangerous and volatile country that has suddenly become a pariah on the world stage. Making equivalences between sports only takes you so far here, but seriously: Imagine if Tom Brady were being held by Russian officials right now.

It is unclear how directly Griner’s plight connects to the catastrophic Russian invasion of Ukraine, and her detention has been overshadowed by the death and destruction wrought by Putin. And part of the muted response is likely due to sensitivity of the negotiations between Russian and American officials. Griner’s wife asked for privacy on Instagram, and it’s clear the precariousness of the situation has led to a certain institutional resistance to even mentioning it: That WNBA.com doesn’t include a single story about one of the organization’s best players being detained speaks to this dynamic. It is also worth remembering, as ESPN’s T.J. Quinn did on Monday, that Griner, whatever the specifics, is likely in some danger; Quinn noted that “as a 6-9 Black gay American woman, she’s a powerful cultural symbol,” and “even in the best case, she’s in for a long legal slog in the Russian criminal justice system. And there’s little the US govt can do about it.”

Another motive the WNBA may have for staying quiet is its own culpability in the situation. The reason Griner was in Russia in the first place — to play off-season basketball, as she has done there for years — is that the league does not pay its superstars the way other sports leagues do. As Tom Ley from Defector pointed out:

The league’s low salaries and minimal efforts towards player support have for years forced even its biggest stars to treat their time in the WNBA as a part-time job. The maximum WNBA salary in 2022 was just over $228,000, and players can make far more than that playing in leagues overseas. In 2015, Diana Taurasi was paid $1.5 million to skip the WNBA season entirely and play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Liz Cambage recently revealed that she has made “five to eight times” as much money playing overseas than she has in the WNBA.

Before you say, “Well, the WNBA isn’t as popular in the NBA; of course Griner wouldn’t make as much as LeBron,” remember this: The WNBA has a salary cap, and one that’s particularly suppressive of superstar wages. Griner only made $221,450 for the 2021–2022 season, which is less than a third of the minimum salary in the NHL, but nevertheless classifies her as the fourth-highest-paid player in the WNBA. A new CBA signed two years ago was supposed to address these issues, yet there was Griner, making a mint playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia. The WNBA’s MVP last year, Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones, plays for the same Russian team. She got out of the country just after the invasion of Ukraine began.

Liz Cambage, a star for the Los Angeles Sparks, has noted that players can make “five to eight times more money” for Russian teams than they do in the WNBA, despite the league being by far the most high-profile women’s basketball league in the world. And restricted cash flow isn’t the only problem for players: Just last week, the league fined the New York Liberty $500,000 for chartering flights to games, claiming this gave the Liberty a “competitive advantage.” (For perspective, almost every team in the collegiate NCAA tournament next week will arrive at their destinations via chartered flight.) Griner didn’t choose to go play in Russia. The league left her no choice.

The precarity of Griner’s position in Russia may give the WNBA a good reason to stay quiet about her case. But perhaps the league would also prefer not to dwell on how she ended up in this situation in the first place.

In any case, it’s not just the WNBA downplaying this story. There was also no mention of Griner on the front pages of ESPN.com, CBS Sports, and SI.com just 48 hours after news of her arrest landed.

This strange reaction comes at a time when the WNBA has surged in popularity. Last year’s finals, featuring Griner’s Mercury, put up the highest ratings ever, a full 49 percent jump from 2020. This is partly because of the league’s activism, which has increased its visibility in a dramatic way. And Griner has been right in the middle of it all, wearing Breonna Taylor’s name on her jersey and speaking out in favor of LGBTQ+ issues since before she even entered the NBA. She was also the first openly gay athlete ever signed to an endorsement deal with Nike. Her teammate Diana Taurasi, perhaps the best player in WNBA history, called Griner “a pioneer.”

And still, relative silence.

As Griner sits in detention in Russia, as a result of a system that is set up to devalue her and other stars at every corner, it would be nice if her plight received attention commensurate with its seriousness.

Why Isn’t Brittney Griner the Biggest Sports Story?

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Content: All news

Russia in talks with US about potential prisoner exchanges, says diplomat

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," Ivan Nechayev stressed
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Competent authorities in Russia and the United States are in talks to discuss potential prisoner swaps, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Ivan Nechayev said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly commented on this. On August 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Russia is ready to discuss the issue, but only within the channel negotiated by Russian President [Vladimir Putin] and US President [Joe Biden]. Let me remind you that corresponding competent authorities have been instructed to negotiate the issue. Competent agencies are in talks," the Russian diplomat said.

He also recalled Moscow’s plea to Washington "not to speculate on the sensitive issue affecting specific individuals."

"We would recommend abandoning futile attempts to put pressure on us and we are calling on them to concentrate on practical work along the available channels. There is no other way," Nechayev concluded.

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," the diplomat emphasized.

Earlier, Washington offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the US for arms trafficking, for basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced to jail for drugs trafficking, and Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying. The exchange of prisoners was one of the topics discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late July. American media reported later, citing unidentified sources, that Russia had proposed to include another Russian prisoner jailed in the West in the prisoner swap.

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Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

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Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

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Content: YEAR IN REVIEW - 2022 From A To Z: Recapping 365 Days In Just 26 Letters

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2022) Take a few minutes to recap the biggest stories we brought you in 2022, from A to Z!

The issues of abortion and reproductive healthcare were at the forefront of US political dialogue in 2022, following the May leak of a draft Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the right to regulate abortion to state governments.

In response to the ruling, a number of states quickly implemented restrictions on abortion. In July, the House passed a pair of bills to provide Federal protections for abortion providers and patients traveling between states for care.

However, with Republicans gaining control of the House and Democrats retaining control of the Senate next Congress, it is unlikely lawmakers pass either federal protections or restrictions on abortion.

During midterm elections in November, several states also held votes on their abortion policies, with states including Vermont and California solidifying abortion protections, and others including Kentucky and Montana rejecting abortion restrictions.

The United States released Russian businessman Viktor Bout from prison in December in exchange for Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Brittney Griner. Bout had served over 14 years in prison after being arrested in a US sting operation in Thailand for allegedly conspiring to supply weapons to Colombian rebels.

Griner was arrested in a Russian airport in February after law enforcement officials found her in possession of cannabis oil. She pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges, remains in custody even though the Biden administration pushed for his release as part of the exchange. Russia asserts it considers Whelan in a different category than Griner in terms of criminality.

The COVID-19 pandemic and governmental response efforts continued throughout 2022, with December marking three years since the novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China. More than 6.6 million people have died of the virus worldwide, including over one million in the US.

Cases continue to be detected worldwide, although Biden said in September that the pandemic stage is over. Nevertheless, in December, the White House relaunched a free, at-home COVID-19 testing program in anticipation of rising case numbers this winter.

The White House noted that COVID-19 remains a public health threat despite causing less disruption than during the peak of the pandemic.

Former US President Donald Trump remained in the political spotlight throughout 2022 amid federal and congressional probes into his conduct, as well as the announcement of a 2024 presidential election bid.

In August, federal agents raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence as part of an investigation into the potential mishandling of sensitive materials from his presidency. Trump has characterized the investigation as a weaponization of the US justice system against him.

Moreover, the House panel tasked with investigating the January 6 Capitol riot finished their probe into the incident, ultimately recommending Trump for criminal prosecution by the Justice Department. The panel accuses Trump of bearing responsibility for the riot and attempting to reverse the 2020 election results.

The investigations did not dissuade Trump from announcing a 2024 reelection bid in November, basing his platform on issues such as election and lobbying reform. Biden has yet to announce a 2024 campaign, although he is expected to confirm his decision early next year.

In November, the US held midterm elections across the country to determine the balance of Congress for the second half of Biden's term as president. Although a "red wave" was predicted by some, Democrats retained control of the Senate while Republicans gained a slim majority in the House.

The federal elections were the first since the 2020 US presidential race and subsequent Capitol riot on January 6, which was fueled by skepticism about electoral processes and outcomes. However, an Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe monitoring group found that the elections were competitive and professionally managed despite concerns about a divisive political environment.

Cryptocurrency company FTX, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsed in November, adding further uncertainty to a market already on the decline for much of 2022. The cryptocurrency exchange commenced voluntary bankruptcy due to a liquidity crunch and commingling of funds, with neither individual nor institutional investors expected to recover their money.

FTX's collapse prompted federal regulators and lawmakers to pursue strengthened oversight of the digital assets market, which was already under scrutiny as an emerging technology. Additionally, some Republican lawmakers have called for investigations into potential corruption involving FTX, the Democratic Party and Ukraine.

US prosecutors are charging Bankman-Fried with crimes including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and violating US campaign finance laws. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and later extradited to the US.

Following the launch of Russia's special military operation in February and subsequent sanctions, exports of grain and other agricultural products from the Black Sea halted, threatening food insecurity in countries reliant on Russian and Ukrainian goods.

On July 22, the United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine agreed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ensuring the safe export of food and fertilizers from Russian and Ukrainian ports. The deal has since been extended.

However, Russia argues that sanctions continue to hinder its grain and fertilizer exports despite the deal's terms. President Vladimir Putin has also voiced concerns about Ukrainian grain ending up in Europe instead of the world's poorest countries.

Haiti faced instability for much of 2022 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last year, with former Prime Minister Ariel Henry taking power in his wake.

Protests erupted in Haiti after Henry ended fuel subsidies, leading to rising energy prices and cost of living. In October, Henry requested foreign forces intervene to help the Haitian government combat armed gangs. The US and Mexico sent military equipment in response.

The country is also experiencing an outbreak of cholera, which started in October. As of December 11, 191 people have died of the disease and more than 12,000 others hospitalized.

In September, the Iranian "morality police" arrested 22-year old Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating laws on the wearing of hijab. Amini died in police custody, with Iranian officials claiming she died of a heart attack while protestors allege she was beaten by police.

The Iranian government's response to the protests resulted in condemnation and sanctions by the US and others, including expulsion from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Iran accuses Western countries of interfering in its domestic affairs via support for the protests.

The aforementioned death of Mahsa Amini and related protests have also taken the Biden administration's focus away from negotiating a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Talks have stalled in recent months, leading Biden to call the negotiations "dead" in a video leaked in December.

The White House does not see the parties making progress on the Iran nuclear deal in the near future, according to Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby. The US entered the JCPOA under Obama, exited it under Trump and is seeking a return to the deal under Biden.

North Korea (DPRK) launched a record number of missiles in 2022, conducting tests on 35 different days. In October, one of the test missiles flew over Japan - the first such incident since 2017.

The Biden administration warned of a potential nuclear test by the DPRK throughout the year, threatening consequences for Pyongyang if they were to conduct a test. The Biden administration claims to have repeatedly called on the DPRK to engage in dialogue, only to receive no response.

Liz Truss made history in 2022 by setting the record for shortest-serving British prime minister. Truss replaced Boris Johnson as leader of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party and became prime minister on September 6.

On October 20, her 45th day in office, Truss resigned as prime minister amid a cost of living crisis and controversial budget proposal.

Truss, who still serves in parliament, was replaced by Rishi Sunak.

The US experienced a number of mass shootings again in 2022, including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The shootings once again brought attention to the issue of gun control in Congress, with lawmakers passing a bipartisan gun control bill in June.

As of December 20, there have been 636 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive.

In September, Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were sabotaged in a series of clandestine bombings.

An investigation into the incident led by the Swedish Security Service determined it to be an act of sabotage. The Russian Defense Ministry accused the UK Royal Navy of involvement in the attack, which the UK denied.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has not transported any gas since August when Russia shut it down, citing maintenance issues related to sanctions. Nord Stream 2 has never been put into operation, as Germany halted the certification process following Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

In February, China hosted the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, following the delayed summer games in Tokyo just six months earlier. Norway won a record 16 gold medals, Germany 12 and China 9, earning them the top three places on the medal table.

Officials from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Belgium and several other countries engaged in a diplomatic boycott of the games over human rights concerns.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in November that she will be stepping down from Democratic Party leadership positions next year, honoring an informal 2018 deal to step down as speaker after four years. Pelosi entered Congress in 1987, serving as speaker under four administrations: from 2007 to 2011 under Bush and Obama, and again from 2019 to present under Trump and Biden.

Pelosi made the announcement following midterm elections, during which Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives. Pelosi said she will continue to serve in Congress as a representative of San Francisco.

In August, Pelosi and other lawmakers made a contentious trip to Taiwan despite warnings by the Biden administration, sparking condemnation and heightened military activity by the government of China. Pelosi was the first US House Speaker to visit Taiwan since Newt Gingrich in 1997.

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died in September at the age of 96. Her state funeral, attended by a number of world leaders including Biden, became one of the most viewed events in UK television history, with over 26 million people tuning in to watch.

Elizabeth II's eldest son, Charles III, was proclaimed king following her passing.

Railworker unions and railroad companies have been battling over worker attendance policies for several years, with the US government's National Mediation board assisting in negotiations since June 2021.

However, the situation came to the brink of crisis in 2022, with Biden's team informing him in July that the labor dispute posed a substantial threat to interstate commerce and essential transportation services.

In November, the House of Representatives passed a tentative version of a labor agreement between the parties amid a looming strike, with the Senate following in December. Biden signed the agreement into law, intervening to avoid the potentially catastrophic strike - a power granted under the Railway Labor Act.

As the conflict in Ukraine continued on, so too did efforts by the US and its network of partners to impose a number of sanctions on Russia. Everything from government officials to banks, to luxury goods, as well as a number of individuals, entities and items have been subject to financial restrictions in an effort to impose costs on Russia for its special military operation.

At the forefront of the sanctions regime was an effort to impose a multilateral price cap on Russian oil. A coalition of countries, led by the US, set a flexible price cap designed to limit the impact on the global energy market while curbing Russian revenues from oil sales.

Russia condemned countries participating in the price cap, threatening to withhold oil from them entirely and reduce overall oil production.

In April, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk offered to purchase social media company Twitter for $43 billion. After a series of legal battles over the number of fake accounts on the platform, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October.

Musk's reforms to the platform include a focus on protecting freedom of speech, combating inauthentic accounts and removing bans on accounts such as that of former US President Donald Trump.

Musk, who used his status as chief of Twitter to comment on a number of political issues such as the prospect of peace in Ukraine, has faced extensive criticism in the role. In December, Musk expressed a desire to step down as CEO of the company.

Perhaps no other story has received as much attention in 2022 as the conflict in Ukraine. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to help protect the Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine's east, targeted by Kiev since 2014.

The operation drew condemnation by the US, NATO, UN and other international bodies, who characterized the action as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia contends the operation is aimed at "denazifying" Ukraine.

In September, the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions voted to join Russia through referenda. Fighting is expected to continue into 2023, although changes in the frontlines have slowed as both sides prepare for the winter months.

In March, the US began expressing interest in working with Venezuela on global energy supply concerns in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, which prompted a number of sanctions on Russian oil and caused instability in world markets.

In May, the US issued a narrow license authorizing energy company Chevron to negotiate future activities in Venezuela. Chevron confirmed to Sputnik in November that the company received US government authorization to extract oil in Venezuela. However, sources also told Sputnik that a blanket lifting of sanctions is unlikely.

Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup from November 20 to December 18, becoming the first country in the Muslim world to host the tournament. Argentina ultimately won the tournament, defeating France 4-2 on penalties in the final match, with their team captain, Lionel Messi, winning the Golden Ball award for best player.

However, the tournament was the subject of a number of controversies, including concerns about Qatar's human rights record, their treatment of LGBT fans and restrictions on alcohol.

Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping was elected to an unprecedented third term as leader during the 20th National Communist Party Congress in October.

The next month, Xi met with Biden for the first time since the latter took office as president. During the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, the leaders discussed issues including Taiwan, North Korea and the conflict in Ukraine.

In April, the United Nations helped facilitate a nationwide truce between the parties to the conflict in Yemen, which has been ongoing since 2014. The truce was extended several times. The UN Security Council praised the agreement as a foundation for progress toward a political settlement of the conflict.

However, in October, the UN announced that the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels had failed to negotiate a further extension.

Ending our list is a double entry, with both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the literal letter "Z" as emblematized by the Russian military serving as contrasting representations of the two conflicting sides at the center of the 2022 news cycle.

Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, has served as Ukraine's leader and public figurehead throughout Russia's special military operation. A former comedian turned politician, Zelenskyy spoke virtually with a number of world leaders and organizations from Ukraine during the conflict, eventually traveling to Washington to meet with Biden and appeal to the US Congress in person in December.

The "Z" painted upon Russian equipment used in the special military operation has also become a symbol of their larger effort to reunite Russian-speaking populations under a single nation, with the Ministry of Defense saying the non-Cyrillic letter represents the phrase "for victory," or "za pobedu" in Russian.

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Content: Former prisoner in Russian punishment colony reveals to CNN what American Grainer can expect after 9 years in prison
The world.
Publish
Nadezhda Tolokonikova, from the group "Female Riot", spent nearly two years in a penal colony after demonstrating against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tolokonikova explained what American basketball player Britney Grainer could expect after she was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking and shared the harsh conditions that occur in the Russian penal colonies.
Tolokonikova said she believed it would be “particularly difficult for Britney because she doesn ’ t know Russian, she can ’ t learn the law she has to abide by in the penal colony, and she can ’ t protect herself. ”
“The worst thing about a penal colony is watching the death of others around you and not being able to do anything.
People die from hard physical work and not being able to get the medical treatment they need.
But you're just another prisoner.
You can't do anything about it.
You just have to witness this cruelty and know that something like this can happen to you as well. ”
Tolokonikova revealed the motivation that kept her alive, saying: "The most important thing now is to minimize the trauma that she will endure during this time period.
Thinking about your loved ones who are waiting for you and who need you, don ’ t give up on your life.
Things like finding a beautiful flower and thinking that this beautiful flower was able to grow in these terrible and terrifying conditions in this nightmarish world prompted me to stay alive and not lose faith that there would be life outside the punitive colony. ”
Tolokonikova concluded: “I hope Britney will come home as soon as possible and experience as little trauma as possible in her condition.
I ’ m really looking forward to reuniting her with her family. ”

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Content: The open letter to President Biden, written by hand and released on the Fourth of July, tore at the heart. This is the unfortunate plight of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, wrongfully detained for 143 days and counting in a godforsaken gulag 6,000 miles from home.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison,” Griner wrote, “alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.” She went on to beseech Biden: “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”

We have been told by the White House press secretary that Biden has read the letter. We also have been told his Administration will “use every tool we possibly can” to bring Griner home. I hope so, because Russian news reports have said Griner, arrested on Feb. 17th, faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly having .702 grams of hash oil in two vape cartridges in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to drug charges on July 7.

Biden and the U.S. State Department should use every tool in America’s toolbox to secure Griner’s release – exactly as he should on behalf of the more than 60 Americans currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Like Paul Whelan, a former Marine wrongfully detained in Russia since 2018. Like “the Citgo 6,” petroleum executives wrongfully held in Venezuela since 2017. And like Alina Lopez-Miyares, wrongfully locked up in a Cuban prison since January 2017.

In a more just world, we would care about all these Americans with the same vigor and at the same loud volume. The truth? As a culture, we have a limited attention span, a finite amount of compassion we spend in dollops – a sprinkling for the homeless here, a few spoonsful for the struggling poor there, and a drip or two for Brittney Griner.

Is that right? I don’t think so. I wish

we had an endless reserve of compassion, enough to go around in the right proportions.

Even so, I disagree wholeheartedly with Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who took dead aim at America in comments supporting Griner last week.

“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard declared. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those. We know it.”

Actually, it’s a statement about how little we pay attention to wrongful detainees and their suffering. Virtually no one save the families of the imprisoned has made a peep about wrongfully imprisoned Americans anywhere, about Whelan, the Citgo 6, or Lopez-Miyares. This silence has nothing to do with race, gender, or who someone loves. It has everything to do with our culture’s capacity to empathize.

Nygaard seems to think if Griner was male, white and straight, America would be threatening nuclear war. Reality says otherwise. Nygaard is correct about one thing, though. If Lebron James was wrongfully imprisoned, Americans would be rioting in the streets.

That has everything to do with celebrity, which is the only reason you have heard about Brittney Griner’s case at all. If Griner couldn’t dribble, couldn’t dunk, wasn’t a six-time WBNA All-Star, her imprisonment would be occurring in silence.

Nygaard is dead wrong about for whom we care and why. We reserve the greatest compassion for the most famous among us – that is a perverted truth about the American way.

I hope Brittney Griner comes home soon. And I hope we bring every other wrongfully detained American home with her.

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Where does wrongful detention of Brittney Griner go from here?

She will inevitably be labeled a hostage

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Brittney Griner

It seems like years rather than weeks ago that American political prisoner, Trevor Reed, was released from Russia in a prisoner swap. It also seems like years since an American citizen, basketball superstar Brittney Griner, was taken into custody in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for allegedly having hashish oil in her possession.

We now know what many of us believed all along – that Brittney Griner was, in the far too late proclamation by the U.S. government, “wrongfully detained.” In diplomacy-speak, wrongfully detained is synonymous with politically detained, which is super close to what will soon enough inevitably happen – calling Brittney Griner a hostage.

Since the beginning of Griner’s detention, I have done dozens of print, radio, TV, and related interviews, and I have a pretty clear view of how and why we got here.

As I wrote around six weeks ago, if we read between the lines of what’s being said in traditional and social media, we can extract three key reasons why the Griner situation isn’t getting the attention that it should be and would be if it was a different athlete.

The first reason is that Brittney Griner is not a terribly high-profile athlete.

This is patently untrue. As I have been commenting from the minute we learned that she was taken into custody by the Russians, Griner was absolutely the highest-profile American athlete that Russia could have taken into custody as they were preparing for their brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The only other high-profile athletes playing in Russia or transiting through at that time were the very few American players in Russia’s top hockey league, the KHL. None are superstars in their sport, as Griner is.

The second argument for why Griner isn’t getting the attention she should be is that she is LGBTQ.

I have argued that this is a reasonably good hypothesis. It just seems that a straight athlete would be getting a lot more attention and public sympathy than Griner has, in part, yet not in full, because of her sexual orientation. That’s a remarkably harsh position to have to take in 2022, yet it’s clear that Griner doesn’t fit the mold of what many Americans see as that all-American athlete. That one’s sexual or gender orientation should drive the American public’s level of sympathy for one of their own top athletes is a shame, but here we are.

The third and most commonly cited reason for Brittany Griner getting less attention than another athlete in a similar situation is that she’s Black.

This argument holds little weight with me. Yes, it makes sense that in comparison to a high-profile white athlete, some people are simply going to care less about a Black athlete. Again, that’s a harsh analysis, yet not unaligned with many things going on in the nation today.

But I think this is a reductive argument that crumbles under the weight of the analogy that I usually use during TV and radio broadcasts about the Griner case – and that is, what if this was Kyrie Irving?

I like to use Kyrie Irving as an analogy because he is a highly controversial Black athlete. Obviously, NBA players don’t have to have second jobs in places like Russia, Turkey, and China, to make ends meet, as the WNBA women do. But just imagine that Kyrie Irving was traveling alone through Moscow airport. If Irving had been taken into custody by the Russians, I can guarantee that this would be front-page news not just in the sports section but on the front page of all significant papers practically every day. That simply hasn’t been the case with Brittney Griner.

Every day, I am asked where this goes from here. With Griner’s May 19 hearing delayed “one month” (though at the time of writing, no date has been set), I remained convinced of two things: that this goes to a worse place than we are now and that it progresses painfully slowly.

As to the first point, to maximize leverage over the United States, it’s likely that Griner will end up somewhere like a Russian labor camp before she ever steps back into the United States. While Russia does not follow the Rule of Law, it would be neither legally nor politically expedient to just hold Griner in a Moscow jail or prison indefinitely. They need to make her situation worse to turn up the urgency of the case for the American government.

But this indeed won’t happen overnight. As I’ve also been saying all along, the next hearing date will also be delayed, OR we will learn through a TASS Russian media release that Griner was tried, found guilty of all charges, and sentenced (see labor camp, above).

As to what each of us can do, my advice remains the same: Keep talking about it. Make this Brittney as viral as Britney Spears was a year ago. Just as Britney Spears’ freedom from her conservatorship was turbo-charged by the #FreeBritney hashtag, let’s #FreeBrittney now.

This is significantly less trite than it sounds. There is no indication that the American government doesn’t want you to forget about Brittney Griner. As former hostage Jason Rezaian discussed on an excellent recent Washington Post podcast, he always “calls BS” on those parties, saying we should keep detentions such as Griner’s out of the public spotlight. He advocates being as loud as we can be on this, which is why I keep doing interviews on this issue as much as possible.

Ultimately, Brittney Griner will be a political prisoner until the United States and Russia can decide, in crass basketball terms, on a fair player trade. On Friday, we learned that the two sides might actually be in discussions now for a trade involving Griner for notorious convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, aka the “Merchant of Death.”

Unless this can re-enter and remain in the public spotlight, along with any pressure on the government, Britney Griner will not get the treatment she deserves as one of the greatest basketball players of her generation. That the massive disparity between how NBA and WNBA players are compensated laid the foundation for her to be in this position is the harsh reality these leagues face today. Yet it pales compared to the uncertain reality Griner faces today in a Moscow jail.

A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the chief legal analyst for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world.

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Leave no one behind: Building an LGBTQ+ movement for all

A just society is only achievable by investing in dignity of the marginalized

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Despite the expansion of LGBTQ+ civil rights and liberties in D.C., some of which we proudly attribute to GLAA’s stalwart activism for the past 51 years, the most vulnerable members of our community continue to suffer from poverty, homelessness, criminalization, discrimination, social isolation, and preventable death. A jaw-dropping 40% of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ people experience hunger at twice the rate of straight people, and right here in D.C., the Office of Human Rights reports that employers are more likely to interview a less-qualified cisgender job applicant than a more-qualified transgender applicant.

So for our 2022 candidate ratings, GLAA decided to emphasize that racial and economic justice are LGBTQ+ justice issues. While we recognize the importance of openly LGBTQ+ candidates, we know one’s identity does not indicate where they stand on critical issues. Something many of us have learned the hard way, and something GLAA leadership recognizes not championing sooner as a mistake. What matters most is a candidate’s demonstrated record and vision to support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.

It is not enough for candidates to respond only to the needs of those who historically have held the most power in the LGBTQ+ community, particularly white cisgender gay men, in order to tout support of the entire community. The LGBTQ+ community is so many different people, and it is time we push candidates to consider and address us in our entirety. For too long, many LGBTQ+ people have felt rejected and betrayed by our community’s movement priorities, narratives about what our community stands for, and decisions on who is valued and who is selected to represent or lead us. And, while GLAA understands no one politician or organization can erase these community divides, we aim to be intentional in our approach to dismantle that which stands in our entire community’s way toward liberation. That is why, in 2022 we decided to rate candidates on their responses and records of support on issues that impact the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community. None of us is free until all of us are free.

Throughout GLAA’s history we have focused on securing LGBTQ+ rights, which have mostly strengthened the legal protections of people privileged enough to take advantage of them. GLAA decided to focus the Leave No One Behind: 2022 Election Guide and questionnaire on racial and economic justice with an LGBTQ+ lens. We did this to build on our victories, such as successfully advocating for the defunding of the Metropolitan Police Department’s vice squad in the 1970s, and to learn from our mistakes.

It is our belief that a just, peaceful, and vibrant society is only achievable by actively investing in the security and dignity of the poor and marginalized members of all our communities. Our questionnaire intentionally acts in solidarity with D.C. anti-poverty, anti-stigma, and anti-overdose campaigns, which are largely led by trans and queer people of color.

Ratings are on a scale of +/-10 points: yes/no responses on questionnaire (+/-2); substance of response (+/-4); and candidate’s public record (+/-4). Candidates earned partial credit for the yes/no category if they partially agreed with the question. Four issues received more than 91% agreement: increasing the affordable housing stock for the poorest residents, housing people using government funded vouchers, fully funding the Office of Human Rights, and better oversight to improve conditions in the DC Jail.

Three issues received 70-79% candidates’ support, and over 90% when including candidates who issued partial support: Repealing the sub-minimum wage, decriminalization of drug use, and reducing the population of D.C. jail by 30%.

Finally, the least supported policies were decriminalization of consensual sex work and divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department and investing in violence prevention and recidivism prevention programs. Even still, there was remarkable consensus: over 2/3 or 66% of candidates who issued total or partial support.

We are encouraged by the remarkable level of consensus on all of our issues, signaling that D.C. is ready for transformative change that at its core addresses the District’s current poverty, unaffordable housing, community and police-based violence, and overdose crises.

GLAA is excited to see more LGBTQ+ people on ballots. More exciting, however, is the number of politicians with fully realized and integrated LGBTQ+ policies in their platforms. Policies that extend across race and class lines. GLAA firmly believes all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can be stewards of LGBTQ+ liberation. It is our hope that readers find these ratings not as endorsements, but as a starting point to imagine what is possible if local officials are guided by D.C. residents to use their elected power to create new possibilities that leave no one behind.

This opinion piece was signed by the 2022 Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance board of directors.

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GLAA has lost its way and should close

Their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election

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(Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), once a respected organization, has now lost its way. It once represented all the members of the LGBTQ+ community, clearly no longer the case, as one can tell based on their questionnaire and ratings. They now represent only the far left in the community and are seeking to represent more than LGBTQ+ people as the statement from their current president suggests. That is not the role of GLAA.

One of the questions in this year’s questionnaire that candidates were asked to respond to is: “Do you support divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to further invest in vital programs, including anti-poverty, violence prevention, crisis intervention, and reentry?” If you didn’t say yes, you lost points. This shows how out of touch they are as the DC Council just voted unanimously, on a first vote, to raise the budget of the MPD. The approved budget also includes increased funding for other vital programs. There’s no indication GLAA ever spoke to Council members on this issue.

Its website lists five officers, all men, with a blurb on each. The one for the president, in addition to listing past and current employment, says, “When he is not organizing, he loves asking people about their Myers Briggs Type (he is ENFP, for the record), doing gay crimes (the basics like drugs and public sex), having Spicy Vanilla sex, dancing to hot beats on the dance floor, practicing vulnerability, plotting revolution against capitalism and other forms of oppression.” He is entitled to his views. But I question how his leading the GLAA represents the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Over the years I’ve had issues with some of what GLAA has done and some of the issues they focused on. But the organization always represented the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community in their questionnaire. Candidates getting a rating from the organization could feel it represented a wide range of opinion in the community. I would hope no candidate tries to pawn the current ratings off as any kind of support from the broader LGBTQ + community.

In the past you always knew their officers, including Rick Rosendall, Bob Summersgill and Jeff Coudriet among others, were involved with D.C. government and knew the issues in-depth. They knew the candidates. Responding to their questionnaire over the years was always interesting. Rick often was the one who spent hours drafting the questions. I always wondered why it was never enough to say yes you agree with their premise. Instead, you had to say it in hundreds, even thousands, of words to earn points. I know as I have filled out questionnaires for many candidates.

Today their website lists nine project areas, none with anything accomplished since 2016. The blog has nothing on any recent budget issues or legislation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, only information about the questionnaire. They claim to lobby the Council and monitor government agencies, but there is no indication of any meetings or testimony since 2017.

We can thank GLAA for the fact that today no politician can win office in D.C. without being supportive of the LGBTQ community. However, today their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election. Since this is now the only thing they do it’s time to close up shop. We have moved past the time in D.C. when a small number of people can sit in a room rating candidates they don’t know, on issues that don’t represent the community they are supposed to be representing.

So personally, I say thank you to all the people who worked hard over many years for GLAA to help move the LGBTQ community forward. I recognize there is much work still to be done but GLAA is not the organization to do it. We must work to ensure economic and civil justice for all members of our community; health equity for transgender persons; senior housing for our community; and employment opportunities for all, among other issues. But there are other LGBTQ organizations, and community organizations, doing these things better and the few members GLAA might still have should be directed to those other organizations.

If as their website claims they are planning an anniversary celebration, it should be one to honor all the people who in the past 50 years of the organization, worked hard and were successful in making my life and the lives of so many LGBTQ people in the District of Columbia and around the nation better. That would be an exciting way to say goodbye and celebrate the organization whose time it is to close.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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An unlikely revolution is happening at Christian universities

More than half have enacted LGBTQ non-discrimination policies

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Recent headlines have been filled with messages of doom and gloom for LGBTQ people. From bans on transgender women competing in sports to “don’t say gay” laws, it seems evident that conservative Republicans are freshly committed to rolling back the rights of LGBTQ people across the United States.

Yet, despite such recent setbacks, a student-led movement for LGBTQ inclusion is gaining ground in what would seem to be one of the unlikeliest settings — Christian colleges and universities.

Over the past few years, I’ve collected extensive data on U.S. Christian colleges and universities’ policies toward LGBTQ students. In one study, I found that 55% of all Christian colleges and universities in the United States have nondiscrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation. In another recent study, I found that nearly half of all Christian colleges and universities are home to officially recognized LGBTQ student groups.

Even some of the most conservative Christian colleges and universities have changed their approach to LGBTQ students. When analyzing data collected in 2013, I found that nearly one-third of all Christian colleges and universities had adopted bans on so-called “homosexual acts” or “homosexual behavior” in their student handbooks. Yet, when reviewing Christian colleges and universities’ handbooks again over the past year, I found that under one-fourth of Christian colleges and universities had such discriminatory bans.

Why are some Christian colleges and universities becoming more accommodating—and even welcoming—to LGBTQ students?

There are several major reasons, but one of the most important is that several Christian denominations already embrace their LGBTQ members. Denominations such as the Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Disciples of Christ, and Presbyterian Church USA, for example, allow ministers to officiate same-sex weddings. An increasing number of nondenominational churches also affirm LGBTQ people. Those Christian colleges and universities that are already associated with affirming denominations are certainly among the most likely to affirm their LGBTQ students.

Another reason that many Christian colleges and universities are becoming welcoming toward LGBTQ students is that they do not necessarily believe their primary mission is to hold all students to the specific religious tenets of their associated denomination. Rather, they see their primary mission as providing an important service (education) to the broader society. Just as Christian hospitals do not refuse to provide medical treatment to people who are not members of their associated denominations, many Christian colleges and universities have chosen not to deny people an education simply because certain people are not members of their associated denominations.

A rising number of Christian colleges and universities also recognize the harms that occur when people are discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A recent survey by Religious Exemption Accountability Project shows that 12% of all Christian college and university students self-identify as LGBTQ. Because studies show that LGBTQ people in non-affirming Christian colleges and universities report greater rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, many Christian schools understand they would be harming a significant number of their students if they continued to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

And still other schools are simply concerned with their bottom lines. The United States is projected to go over a “demographic cliff” in 2025, at which time the number of 18-year-olds nationwide will drop dramatically. Some reports say that one-third of all private colleges and universities nationwide will face major financial crises over the next decade, causing them to close or pursue mergers. Many Christian colleges and universities recognize that adopting discriminatory policies toward LGBTQ students would alienate significant portions of their potential student body.

Certainly, despite these encouraging trends, those who are committed to LGBTQ rights should not be complacent. Many schools have still been slow to extend nondiscrimination protections and housing accommodations to trans students. And the Religious Exemption Accountability Project estimates that as many as 100,000 LGBTQ students are currently enrolled at Christian colleges and universities that still refuse to affirm the dignity and rights of LGBTQ people. That organization recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, challenging the federal government’s policy of providing loans even to Christian colleges and universities that otherwise violate Title IX protections for LGBTQ students.

It is likely the case that some Christian colleges and universities will not change their policies toward LGBTQ rights unless they are legally required to do so. Still, at Christian colleges and universities across the United States, LGBTQ students are not waiting around. LGBTQ students are actively mobilizing to bring about inclusive policies at their schools, and at a surprising number of schools, they are succeeding.

Jonathan S. Coley is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University and a Public Fellow at the Public Religion Research Institute.

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Content: 'What about the Merchant of Death?': Drug-smuggling WNBA star Brittney Griner is heckled about Russian prisoner swap by conservative influencer at DFW airport and asked if she still wants to boycott America

  • Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling in Russia and imprisoned
  • She was released in controversial swap, but reception has not been all positive
  • DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Brittney Griner has been heckled about a prisoner swap which saw a notorious arms dealer handed over to Russia so she could be freed after smuggling weed into Moscow.

The WNBA star, 32, was confronted by conservative YouTube star Alex Stein at Dallas Fort-Worth Airport Saturday.

Stein said:  'Hey Britt, do you still wanna... do you still wanna boycott America?

'What about the Merchant of Death, Brittney?'

Griner did not appear to respond to the heckling, although a woman in her group could be heard calling Stein a 'weirdo.' He was held back from the controversial star by a male security guard.

Stein's questions referred to Griner's previous assertion that sports players should not have to stand for the national anthem ahead of games. She stopped doing so herself in 2020, following George Floyd's murder, but has since changed her mind and resumed doing so.

The 'Merchant of Death' remark referred to arms dealer Viktor Bout. He was being held in a US jail for stoking some of the world's worst conflicts, but was freed and flown to Russia on a private jet in exchange for Griner's freedom.

Griner (center) could be seen walking through the airport with her Phoenix Mercury team

A conservative influencer heckled WNBA star Brittney Griner at Dallas Airport on Saturday

Griner was busted with weed cartridges at Moscow airport in February 2022, while traveling to Russia to play for a women's basketball team there.

Marijuana is totally-illegal in Russia, with Griner subsequently convicted of drug smuggling in October 2022. She claims she had authorization to take the drug medicinally in her native Arizona.

The sportswoman was arrested just before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and news of her imprisonment did not emerge until the following month.

Griner was sentenced to spend nine years in a prison colony, but was freed in December after the Biden administration agreed to release Bout.

Her release sparked mixed reactions. Many said she should never have been jailed for carrying a drug she was legally entitled to use at home.

But critics said Griner should have been more cautious and respectful of Russian laws, and that she should have been well aware of the harsh penalties she'd face for breaking statutes there.

The WNBA and the her team - Phoenix Mercury - are reviewing the incident, which occurred as the team travelled home from their latest game in Dallas on Saturday.

Griner had played hours earlier in the WNBA, and the team were heading home on Saturday

Griner is pictured putting her bag through a scanner after she was approached by a sniffer dog at Moscow airport in February 2022

In a statement on Saturday, the league said it was looking into the team's run-in with a 'social media figure' whose 'actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.'

'The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,' the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

Griner and her supporters had lobbied for charter flights after she returned from detainment in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her and others' safety. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights to road games.

Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras 'saying wild remarks.'

Griner spent nearly 10 months in a Russian penal colony for drug smuggling last year

She was involved in a high-profile prisoner swap with 'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout (above)

'Excessive harassment,' Turner tweeted. 'Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.'

The WNBA has added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of back-to-back regular season games were scheduled for such flights.

WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league´s inception in 1997. The league typically doesn't allow teams to charter because it could create a competitive advantage for teams who can afford to pay for them.

'Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG's team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times,' the league's statement reads. 'We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.'

Griner is pictured stepping back onto US soil after arriving at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas

The outside of the IK-2 penal colony in the town of Yavas in Mordovia, where Griner was held

The WNBA players' union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it 'quite clear that the matter of charter travel is NOT a 'competitive advantage' issue.'

'What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,' the WNBPA statement reads. 'Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.'

The Mercury released a statement saying the team will be working with the league on next steps.

'We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad,' the team statement reads. 'We will continue our support of marginalized communities and fighting the kind of hate that targeted us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety.'

Moment Brittney Griner is HECKLED over drug smuggling prisoner swap at Dallas airport

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Content: News

February 14, 2023

U.S. tells citizens to leave Russia immediately

The United States authorities have advised their citizens still residing in Russia to leave immediately.

Those who planned to travel to the eastern Europe nation were also advised to postpone such itinerary.

The advice is coming amid growing concerns over irrational and arbitrary detentions and harassment of Americans abroad.

“U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions,” reads a top level travel alert issued by the State Department to citizens on Monday.

“Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism,” the alert stated.

The top level alert has renewed concerns about the safety of Americans still on Russian soil especially as its ongoing war with Ukraine which began February 24 2022, approaches its first anniversary.

There have been rumours that Moscow may convene its troops to launch a sinister attack to mark its first year anniversary of invading Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the warning, claiming it was “not a new thing,” Reuters quoted him to have said.

In August 2022, a Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges after cartridges containing cannabis oil for vaping were found in her luggage.

She was later released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap between the United States and the Russian Federation. Ms Briner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death.’

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NBA News Roundup: Steph Curry responds to 'one dimensional' comments, Kyle Lowry tried bringing back Vince Carter to the Raptors and more | August 6th, 2022

Steph Curry has called himself the "Petty King" ahead of Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals. Despite winning his fourth championship and first NBA Finals MVP, Curry was described as "one dimensional" by Kevin Durant's former teammate. Well, the "Petty King" has responded and it was hilarious.

Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry revealed that he tried to bring back Vince Carter to the Toronto Raptors before his retirement. Lowry spent the majority of his career in Toronto, while Carter is considered a Raptors legend. Even though Carter left Toronto on a sour note, the fanbase has since forgiven him.

Here is the latest NBA news roundup for Aug. 6 brought to you by Sportskeeda.

NBA releases statement regarding Brittney Griner's guilty verdict

WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges by a Russian court and was sentenced to nine years in jail. NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement regarding the issue via the league's official website.

"Today's verdict and sentencing is unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected and Brittney Griner remains wrongly detained," Silver said. "The WNBA and NBA's commitment to her safe return has not wavered and it is our hope that we are near the end of this process of finally bringing BG home to the United States."
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement regarding Brittney Griner: https://t.co/FMQZsHBDVv

The verdict has united the basketball community, with many NBA and WNBA stars calling for the release of Griner. The United States government is expected to continue negotiating with the Kremlin. U.S. president Joe Biden also released a statement on the issue, calling the sentence "unacceptable."

Steph Curry responds to Mike James' 'one-dimensional' comments

Former Brooklyn Nets guard Mike James recently made headlines for calling Steph Curry a one-dimensional player. James did not even include Curry in his current top five players in the league. The EuroLeague star told the "Players Choice" podcast that Curry not being the primary ball-handler lessened his greatness.

"Steph's, like, how he plays, and how he gets stuff off, it’s just kind of one dimensional at times, if that makes sense," James said. "He's not the primary ball handler a lot, and for a point guard, that kind of bothers me, but he does score off the dribble. He's a superstar."
“I got Kev, Bron, Embiid, Giannis.. It get tough after that between Luka, Steph, Jokic.. I’m going to say Luka, I feel like Steph is just a little bit below.”-Mike James on his top 5 NBA players today. https://t.co/s53hzlw6Fi

The "Petty King" clapped back at James during a recent news conference, per NBC Sports. A reporter asked Curry about the possibility of facing kids at his annual camp. The four-time champ had a hilarious response:

"Oh, it's all bad for them," Curry said. "All bad for them, even as one-dimensional as I am."

Curry tried to be serious, but he eventually burst out in laughter, saying:

"I'm sorry, I'm petty. I'm so petty. Keep it going, I like that one a lot."
The Petty King strikes again 💀(via caleb_hanna / IG) https://t.co/6C6EzviHvj

Antetokounmpo brothers to play for Greece in the EuroBasket

Giannis Antetokounmpo will try to lead Greece in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. International accolade is the only thing missing from Antetokounmpo's impressive career. However, he won't be the only Antetokounmpo on the Greece National Team.

Head coach Dimitris Itoudis has named Giannis, Thanasis, Kostas and Alex Antetokounmpo for his squad. To celebrate this amazing achievement of their family, Giannis posted a photo of the "AntetokounBros" wearing the national team jersey.

Blessed to be able to do this together 💪🏾💪🏾 https://t.co/2Wz1uqf7fO

Giannis and Thanasis are teammates with the Milwaukee Bucks. Alex was traded to the Bucks' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, this offseason. Meanwhile, Kostas most recently played for LDLC ASVEL of the LNB Pro A and the Euroleague.

Kyle Lowry tried bringing back Vince Carter to the Raptors

Vince Carter is a certified legend for the Toronto Raptors. Carter's relationship with the Raptors was non-existent after leaving via trade in 2004. Before retiring in 2020, the former Slam Dunk champion reconciled with the fanbase. He received a video tribute in 2014 and a standing ovation in 2019.

But before ending his career with the Atlanta Hawks, another Raptors legend tried to bring Carter back in Toronto. In an on "The VC Show" on ESPN, Lowry revealed that he wanted the Raptors to sign Carter in free agency. There were conversations between the two sides, but it never came into fruition.

"I don't know if anybody knew this," Lowry said. "But I tried to get Vince back with us at one point. I wanted Vince. I was trying."
"I tried to get Vince back with us" - @Klow7 https://t.co/tJ3CqKJRaX

Lowry won a title with the Raptors in 2019 before getting traded to the Miami Heat last season. Meanwhile, Carter bounced around the league after getting traded by the New Jersey Nets in 2009. He never won a championship, but he's the only player to play for 22 seasons in NBA history.

Top remaining NBA free agents left unsigned

NBA free agency started with a bang, but the market has slowed down. However, there are still some very good players available. NBA.com listed the five best available free agents on the market.

LaMarcus Aldridge may be 36 years old, but he's still a capable player who can shoot the ball. He averaged 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds last season with the Brooklyn Nets.

Another veteran on the market is Carmelo Anthony, who last played for the LA Lakers. He embraced his role as a sixth man last season, averaging 13.3 ppg and 4.2 rpg in his 19th season.

Dennis Schroder played for the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets last season. He turned down a nice payday from the LA Lakers last summer, and it appears he'll never be able to receive that kind of offer again. Nevertheless, he's just 28 years old and could be a starting point guard or a scorer off the bench.

Montrezl Harrell won the Sixth Man of the Year in 2020, but he's played for three different teams since then. Harrell is one of the best scorers off the bench, but his future is in doubt. He's facing drug charges after getting arrested last month.

Finally, Collin Sexton is the youngest on the list. Sexton played in just 11 games last season after suffering a knee injury. He's a restricted free agent, which means the Cleveland Cavaliers can match any offers.

Edited by Juan Paolo David

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Content: Brittney Griner’s Wife, Cherelle, Makes First Social Media Post Since WNBA Star’s Return

by Jonathan Howard

Brittney Griner is home and her wife Cherelle is relieved to have her back. She had a lot of people to thank as she broke her silence online. On Monday, Cherelle made her first social media post since Griner returned to the United States. This is an emotional time for the family.

As Brittney Griner has settled back into her life here in the states, Cherelle was thanking all of the people that helped make it possible. Griner was held in Russia for months for possessing vape pen cartridges. When an agreement on her release was made, she had been living at a Russian penal colony.

On Instagram, Cherelle was thankful for a lot of folks.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!” she wrote. “I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some – is humanity in its purest form! As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits – I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!”

In her post, she thanked the Biden Administration as well as various members of congress. While thanking all those involved, Cherelle also thanked Paul Whelan’s family.

“I appreciate each and every one of you – Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home. All families deserve to be whole!” the post ended.

Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball Workouts

While Brittney Griner is a lot of things, she is a basketball player. So, she’s already back to practicing and the WNBA forward has still got it. During her detainment and imprisonment in Russia, Griner was offered the chance to practice playing basketball. However, given her situation, it didn’t feel right.

ESPN reported that Griner had a light workout and was able to dunk a basketball. She has not made a decision on when or if she will return to basketball as a professional. After the 10 months that she has been through, it is no surprise that she is taking time to make this decision.

The entire basketball world is behind Brittney Griner. She has had a lot of support from the NBA and WNBA. When it comes time to make that decision, she will make it. Until then, it’s just about getting back to her normal life.

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner pleaded guilty in Russia to marijuana charges, so what happens next?

WNBA star Brittany Griner pleaded guilty Thursday to bringing cannabis-derived oil cartridges to Russia, saying she had done so by accident. The move was significant as it shed the first light on her defense team's strategy, and it could potentially pave the way for a prisoner swap with the U.S. or a pardon that could see Griner freed.

"We of course hope for the leniency of the court," the basketball player's Russian lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, was quoted as saying by local media on Thursday outside a Moscow courthouse. "Considering all the circumstances of the case and taking into account the personality of our client, we believe that the admission of guilt should certainly be taken into account."

From a procedural standpoint, under Russia's legal system a pardon or prisoner swap can only happen if the individual has already been convicted. Moscow is unlikely to respond to any of Washington's requests for Griner's release until she has formally been convicted.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday that "there are no formal or procedural reasons to discuss further steps" until Griner's trial is concluded.

On Friday, Ryabkov indicated that Russia was interested in putting the ball in Washington's court — leaving the Biden administration to make an offer for a potential swap if the two sides can reach the stage of closed-door negotiations on an exchange.

"As for any exchange schemes, our position is the same: this needs to be done behind closed doors through the available channels," Ryabkov said.

Ryabkov signaled clearly that Moscow could be interested in negotiating a swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death," who has been in U.S. custody since 2008.

"I'm not sure that any additional activity, especially in the public sphere, will help a correct, balanced compromise and find a basis to alleviate the fate of a lot of our compatriots such as Viktor Bout, who has health problems, [or] such as Seleznev, and many others," he said, referring to Roman Seleznev, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence in the U.S. on cyber-fraud charges.

U.S. officials have repeatedly referred to Griner as "wrongfully detained," a label the Kremlin said is not "helpful" in negotiations.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday during an official visit to Indonesia that securing the release of Griner and another U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in Russia, was a "number one priority" for the Biden administration.

Asked about Ryabkov's remarks suggesting Griner's trial would have to play out before there was any further movement on a potential prisoner swap, Blinken told reporters he was "not going to engage in hypotheticals."

"We'll look for ways to engage and do everything we can to bring people home as quickly as we possibly can," he said.

Even though Griner has entered a guilty plea it could still take weeks or even months for the judge to issue a verdict in the case. Griner is expected to give testimony during the next hearing, which is scheduled for July 14.

The admission of guilt could play in Griner's favor in the long term, as it may lead to a shorter trial than would be expected if her legal team were to mount a fierce resistance to the charges. That was the case with another American, Trevor Reed, who was recently released in a swap for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. After fighting the charges against him for nearly three years while he languished in a Russian prison, Reed was reportedly still made to sign a paper admitting his wrongdoing before he was released.

Possession and use of marijuana are illegal in Russia. Statistically, very few criminal cases end in acquittal in the Russian justice system.

If any negotiations on a potential prisoner swap fail — or fail to even materialize, given relations between Washington and Moscow are currently at or near an all-time low — pleading guilty and asking the court for mercy could at least see any sentence imposed on Griner shortened.

"We're still in a wait-and-see posture as to how the trial proceeds,"William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute in Washington and an expert on Russian law, told CBS News on Thursday.

"I think she pled guilty mainly to throw herself on the mercy of the court and to plead for leniency," Pomeranz said. He's previously told news outlets that that is often the best strategy to adopt with Russia's courts.

"We'll have to see if she gets the maximum sentence. Clearly this case has now become a political case, and there are already discussions, allegedly, about having a plea agreement and a prisoner swap with a Russian prisoner for Brittney Griner," he said. "We need to basically see whether this prisoner swap is in the cards, because if she indeed wants to get home as fast as possible, it will be only if there is a swap between Russia and the United States."

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She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

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Content: Former prisoner in Russian punishment colony reveals to CNN what American Grainer can expect after 9 years in prison
The world.
Publish
Nadezhda Tolokonikova, from the group "Female Riot", spent nearly two years in a penal colony after demonstrating against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tolokonikova explained what American basketball player Britney Grainer could expect after she was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking and shared the harsh conditions that occur in the Russian penal colonies.
Tolokonikova said she believed it would be “particularly difficult for Britney because she doesn ’ t know Russian, she can ’ t learn the law she has to abide by in the penal colony, and she can ’ t protect herself. ”
“The worst thing about a penal colony is watching the death of others around you and not being able to do anything.
People die from hard physical work and not being able to get the medical treatment they need.
But you're just another prisoner.
You can't do anything about it.
You just have to witness this cruelty and know that something like this can happen to you as well. ”
Tolokonikova revealed the motivation that kept her alive, saying: "The most important thing now is to minimize the trauma that she will endure during this time period.
Thinking about your loved ones who are waiting for you and who need you, don ’ t give up on your life.
Things like finding a beautiful flower and thinking that this beautiful flower was able to grow in these terrible and terrifying conditions in this nightmarish world prompted me to stay alive and not lose faith that there would be life outside the punitive colony. ”
Tolokonikova concluded: “I hope Britney will come home as soon as possible and experience as little trauma as possible in her condition.
I ’ m really looking forward to reuniting her with her family. ”

Title:

Content: News

February 14, 2023

U.S. tells citizens to leave Russia immediately

The United States authorities have advised their citizens still residing in Russia to leave immediately.

Those who planned to travel to the eastern Europe nation were also advised to postpone such itinerary.

The advice is coming amid growing concerns over irrational and arbitrary detentions and harassment of Americans abroad.

“U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions,” reads a top level travel alert issued by the State Department to citizens on Monday.

“Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism,” the alert stated.

The top level alert has renewed concerns about the safety of Americans still on Russian soil especially as its ongoing war with Ukraine which began February 24 2022, approaches its first anniversary.

There have been rumours that Moscow may convene its troops to launch a sinister attack to mark its first year anniversary of invading Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the warning, claiming it was “not a new thing,” Reuters quoted him to have said.

In August 2022, a Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges after cartridges containing cannabis oil for vaping were found in her luggage.

She was later released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap between the United States and the Russian Federation. Ms Briner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death.’

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

In this article:
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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

She was held in a penal colony in Mordovia.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

She was released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Title:

Content: News

February 14, 2023

U.S. tells citizens to leave Russia immediately

The United States authorities have advised their citizens still residing in Russia to leave immediately.

Those who planned to travel to the eastern Europe nation were also advised to postpone such itinerary.

The advice is coming amid growing concerns over irrational and arbitrary detentions and harassment of Americans abroad.

“U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions,” reads a top level travel alert issued by the State Department to citizens on Monday.

“Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism,” the alert stated.

The top level alert has renewed concerns about the safety of Americans still on Russian soil especially as its ongoing war with Ukraine which began February 24 2022, approaches its first anniversary.

There have been rumours that Moscow may convene its troops to launch a sinister attack to mark its first year anniversary of invading Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the warning, claiming it was “not a new thing,” Reuters quoted him to have said.

In August 2022, a Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges after cartridges containing cannabis oil for vaping were found in her luggage.

She was later released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap between the United States and the Russian Federation. Ms Briner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death.’

The swap exchanged Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Title:

Content: All news

Russia in talks with US about potential prisoner exchanges, says diplomat

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," Ivan Nechayev stressed
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Competent authorities in Russia and the United States are in talks to discuss potential prisoner swaps, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Ivan Nechayev said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly commented on this. On August 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Russia is ready to discuss the issue, but only within the channel negotiated by Russian President [Vladimir Putin] and US President [Joe Biden]. Let me remind you that corresponding competent authorities have been instructed to negotiate the issue. Competent agencies are in talks," the Russian diplomat said.

He also recalled Moscow’s plea to Washington "not to speculate on the sensitive issue affecting specific individuals."

"We would recommend abandoning futile attempts to put pressure on us and we are calling on them to concentrate on practical work along the available channels. There is no other way," Nechayev concluded.

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," the diplomat emphasized.

Earlier, Washington offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the US for arms trafficking, for basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced to jail for drugs trafficking, and Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying. The exchange of prisoners was one of the topics discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late July. American media reported later, citing unidentified sources, that Russia had proposed to include another Russian prisoner jailed in the West in the prisoner swap.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Title:

Content: News

February 14, 2023

U.S. tells citizens to leave Russia immediately

The United States authorities have advised their citizens still residing in Russia to leave immediately.

Those who planned to travel to the eastern Europe nation were also advised to postpone such itinerary.

The advice is coming amid growing concerns over irrational and arbitrary detentions and harassment of Americans abroad.

“U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately. Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions,” reads a top level travel alert issued by the State Department to citizens on Monday.

“Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism,” the alert stated.

The top level alert has renewed concerns about the safety of Americans still on Russian soil especially as its ongoing war with Ukraine which began February 24 2022, approaches its first anniversary.

There have been rumours that Moscow may convene its troops to launch a sinister attack to mark its first year anniversary of invading Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the warning, claiming it was “not a new thing,” Reuters quoted him to have said.

In August 2022, a Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges after cartridges containing cannabis oil for vaping were found in her luggage.

She was later released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap between the United States and the Russian Federation. Ms Briner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death.’

The U.S. government pursued her release, led by President Biden.

Title:

Content: All news

Russia in talks with US about potential prisoner exchanges, says diplomat

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," Ivan Nechayev stressed
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Competent authorities in Russia and the United States are in talks to discuss potential prisoner swaps, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Ivan Nechayev said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly commented on this. On August 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Russia is ready to discuss the issue, but only within the channel negotiated by Russian President [Vladimir Putin] and US President [Joe Biden]. Let me remind you that corresponding competent authorities have been instructed to negotiate the issue. Competent agencies are in talks," the Russian diplomat said.

He also recalled Moscow’s plea to Washington "not to speculate on the sensitive issue affecting specific individuals."

"We would recommend abandoning futile attempts to put pressure on us and we are calling on them to concentrate on practical work along the available channels. There is no other way," Nechayev concluded.

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," the diplomat emphasized.

Earlier, Washington offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the US for arms trafficking, for basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced to jail for drugs trafficking, and Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying. The exchange of prisoners was one of the topics discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late July. American media reported later, citing unidentified sources, that Russia had proposed to include another Russian prisoner jailed in the West in the prisoner swap.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Title:

Content:   • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

The swap was a political bargaining chip amid U.S.-Russia tensions.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Title:

Content: All news

Russia in talks with US about potential prisoner exchanges, says diplomat

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," Ivan Nechayev stressed
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Competent authorities in Russia and the United States are in talks to discuss potential prisoner swaps, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Ivan Nechayev said at a briefing on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly commented on this. On August 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Russia is ready to discuss the issue, but only within the channel negotiated by Russian President [Vladimir Putin] and US President [Joe Biden]. Let me remind you that corresponding competent authorities have been instructed to negotiate the issue. Competent agencies are in talks," the Russian diplomat said.

He also recalled Moscow’s plea to Washington "not to speculate on the sensitive issue affecting specific individuals."

"We would recommend abandoning futile attempts to put pressure on us and we are calling on them to concentrate on practical work along the available channels. There is no other way," Nechayev concluded.

"We proceed from the fact that the negotiations should take the interests of both sides into account," the diplomat emphasized.

Earlier, Washington offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the US for arms trafficking, for basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced to jail for drugs trafficking, and Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying. The exchange of prisoners was one of the topics discussed in a telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late July. American media reported later, citing unidentified sources, that Russia had proposed to include another Russian prisoner jailed in the West in the prisoner swap.

Title:

Content:   • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

Griner endured harsh prison conditions, lacking hot water and limited toilets.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Title:

Content: Former prisoner in Russian punishment colony reveals to CNN what American Grainer can expect after 9 years in prison
The world.
Publish
Nadezhda Tolokonikova, from the group "Female Riot", spent nearly two years in a penal colony after demonstrating against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tolokonikova explained what American basketball player Britney Grainer could expect after she was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking and shared the harsh conditions that occur in the Russian penal colonies.
Tolokonikova said she believed it would be “particularly difficult for Britney because she doesn ’ t know Russian, she can ’ t learn the law she has to abide by in the penal colony, and she can ’ t protect herself. ”
“The worst thing about a penal colony is watching the death of others around you and not being able to do anything.
People die from hard physical work and not being able to get the medical treatment they need.
But you're just another prisoner.
You can't do anything about it.
You just have to witness this cruelty and know that something like this can happen to you as well. ”
Tolokonikova revealed the motivation that kept her alive, saying: "The most important thing now is to minimize the trauma that she will endure during this time period.
Thinking about your loved ones who are waiting for you and who need you, don ’ t give up on your life.
Things like finding a beautiful flower and thinking that this beautiful flower was able to grow in these terrible and terrifying conditions in this nightmarish world prompted me to stay alive and not lose faith that there would be life outside the punitive colony. ”
Tolokonikova concluded: “I hope Britney will come home as soon as possible and experience as little trauma as possible in her condition.
I ’ m really looking forward to reuniting her with her family. ”

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

She described her detention as traumatic and isolating.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

After release, she returned to the U.S. and resumed basketball.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner’s Wife, Cherelle, Makes First Social Media Post Since WNBA Star’s Return

by Jonathan Howard

Brittney Griner is home and her wife Cherelle is relieved to have her back. She had a lot of people to thank as she broke her silence online. On Monday, Cherelle made her first social media post since Griner returned to the United States. This is an emotional time for the family.

As Brittney Griner has settled back into her life here in the states, Cherelle was thanking all of the people that helped make it possible. Griner was held in Russia for months for possessing vape pen cartridges. When an agreement on her release was made, she had been living at a Russian penal colony.

On Instagram, Cherelle was thankful for a lot of folks.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!” she wrote. “I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some – is humanity in its purest form! As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits – I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!”

In her post, she thanked the Biden Administration as well as various members of congress. While thanking all those involved, Cherelle also thanked Paul Whelan’s family.

“I appreciate each and every one of you – Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home. All families deserve to be whole!” the post ended.

Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball Workouts

While Brittney Griner is a lot of things, she is a basketball player. So, she’s already back to practicing and the WNBA forward has still got it. During her detainment and imprisonment in Russia, Griner was offered the chance to practice playing basketball. However, given her situation, it didn’t feel right.

ESPN reported that Griner had a light workout and was able to dunk a basketball. She has not made a decision on when or if she will return to basketball as a professional. After the 10 months that she has been through, it is no surprise that she is taking time to make this decision.

The entire basketball world is behind Brittney Griner. She has had a lot of support from the NBA and WNBA. When it comes time to make that decision, she will make it. Until then, it’s just about getting back to her normal life.

Outsider.com

She is healing mentally and physically after release.

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner’s Wife, Cherelle, Makes First Social Media Post Since WNBA Star’s Return

by Jonathan Howard

Brittney Griner is home and her wife Cherelle is relieved to have her back. She had a lot of people to thank as she broke her silence online. On Monday, Cherelle made her first social media post since Griner returned to the United States. This is an emotional time for the family.

As Brittney Griner has settled back into her life here in the states, Cherelle was thanking all of the people that helped make it possible. Griner was held in Russia for months for possessing vape pen cartridges. When an agreement on her release was made, she had been living at a Russian penal colony.

On Instagram, Cherelle was thankful for a lot of folks.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!” she wrote. “I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some – is humanity in its purest form! As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits – I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!”

In her post, she thanked the Biden Administration as well as various members of congress. While thanking all those involved, Cherelle also thanked Paul Whelan’s family.

“I appreciate each and every one of you – Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home. All families deserve to be whole!” the post ended.

Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball Workouts

While Brittney Griner is a lot of things, she is a basketball player. So, she’s already back to practicing and the WNBA forward has still got it. During her detainment and imprisonment in Russia, Griner was offered the chance to practice playing basketball. However, given her situation, it didn’t feel right.

ESPN reported that Griner had a light workout and was able to dunk a basketball. She has not made a decision on when or if she will return to basketball as a professional. After the 10 months that she has been through, it is no surprise that she is taking time to make this decision.

The entire basketball world is behind Brittney Griner. She has had a lot of support from the NBA and WNBA. When it comes time to make that decision, she will make it. Until then, it’s just about getting back to her normal life.

Outsider.com

She scored 18 points in her first 2023 game after returning.

Her return increased WNBA attendance by about 1,000 fans per game.

The incident prompted WNBA to improve player pay and travel standards.

The WNBA arranged charter flights for her after airport harassment.

She thanked supporters and wrote an open letter to President Biden.

Title:

Content: The open letter to President Biden, written by hand and released on the Fourth of July, tore at the heart. This is the unfortunate plight of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, wrongfully detained for 143 days and counting in a godforsaken gulag 6,000 miles from home.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison,” Griner wrote, “alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.” She went on to beseech Biden: “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”

We have been told by the White House press secretary that Biden has read the letter. We also have been told his Administration will “use every tool we possibly can” to bring Griner home. I hope so, because Russian news reports have said Griner, arrested on Feb. 17th, faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly having .702 grams of hash oil in two vape cartridges in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to drug charges on July 7.

Biden and the U.S. State Department should use every tool in America’s toolbox to secure Griner’s release – exactly as he should on behalf of the more than 60 Americans currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Like Paul Whelan, a former Marine wrongfully detained in Russia since 2018. Like “the Citgo 6,” petroleum executives wrongfully held in Venezuela since 2017. And like Alina Lopez-Miyares, wrongfully locked up in a Cuban prison since January 2017.

In a more just world, we would care about all these Americans with the same vigor and at the same loud volume. The truth? As a culture, we have a limited attention span, a finite amount of compassion we spend in dollops – a sprinkling for the homeless here, a few spoonsful for the struggling poor there, and a drip or two for Brittney Griner.

Is that right? I don’t think so. I wish

we had an endless reserve of compassion, enough to go around in the right proportions.

Even so, I disagree wholeheartedly with Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who took dead aim at America in comments supporting Griner last week.

“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard declared. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those. We know it.”

Actually, it’s a statement about how little we pay attention to wrongful detainees and their suffering. Virtually no one save the families of the imprisoned has made a peep about wrongfully imprisoned Americans anywhere, about Whelan, the Citgo 6, or Lopez-Miyares. This silence has nothing to do with race, gender, or who someone loves. It has everything to do with our culture’s capacity to empathize.

Nygaard seems to think if Griner was male, white and straight, America would be threatening nuclear war. Reality says otherwise. Nygaard is correct about one thing, though. If Lebron James was wrongfully imprisoned, Americans would be rioting in the streets.

That has everything to do with celebrity, which is the only reason you have heard about Brittney Griner’s case at all. If Griner couldn’t dribble, couldn’t dunk, wasn’t a six-time WBNA All-Star, her imprisonment would be occurring in silence.

Nygaard is dead wrong about for whom we care and why. We reserve the greatest compassion for the most famous among us – that is a perverted truth about the American way.

I hope Brittney Griner comes home soon. And I hope we bring every other wrongfully detained American home with her.

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Title:

Content: Brittney Griner Asks Fans, Advocates to Write Letters to Paul Whelan: 'It's Our Turn to Support'

The WNBA star shared Whelan's mailing address and said, "I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families"

Brittney Griner has a request for her supporters this holiday season.

The WNBA star, who was released from Russian custody on Dec. 8, penned a handwritten letter to her Instagram followers on Wednesday morning, asking those who helped advocate for her safe return to do the same for Paul Whelan and other families of wrongfully detained loved ones.

"Thanks to the efforts of many, including you, I am home after nearly 10 months," Griner wrote. "You took time to show me you cared, and I want to personally take the time to write to you and say that your effort mattered."

Griner said the letters she received from fans and friends, through the #WeAreBG campaign, helped her "to not lose hope during a time" filled with "regret."

She described her feeling "vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined," in the letter.

The Phoenix Mercury center thanked those who wrote to her "from the bottom of my heart" and said that it was because of those communications of support that she "never lost hope" over the course of her detainment.

The letters were "bigger than uplifting" for the WNBA star, though. Griner explained that the thousands of messages she received showed her "the power of collective hands" and now, she hopes to help Whelan, the former U.S. marine who has been imprisoned in Russia for four years on espionage charges, and other detained Americans, come home.

"Together, we can do hard things," Griner wrote. "I'm living proof of that."

"My family is whole and now, thanks to you, we are fortunate to get to spend the holidays together," she wrote. "However, there remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained."

Griner explained, "Those families stood alongside you and all who supported the #WeAreBG campaign to bring me home, and it's our turn to support them. I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families."

Griner ended her letter by thanking fans once more, adding, "I hope your holiday season is full of joy and love."

She included Whelan's mailing address at the bottom of her note. He is currently receiving mail through the American Citizen Services Unit Consular, per the address.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Griner's intention to help Whelan and other Americans was first confirmed by her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, in an ESPN interview after her release. Colas said both Griner and her wife, Cherelle, plan to "raise attention" for other families with loved ones detained abroad.

When Cherelle spoke from the White House following the announcement of Brittney's return, she said, "Today my family is whole, but as you are all aware, there are so many families who are not whole."

She added that she will continue advocating for "getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today."

Related Articles

She expressed gratitude for small moments and renewed appreciation for life.

She cut her locs to avoid harsh winter conditions.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

She had no complaints about prison life.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

She is a high-profile Black LGBTQ athlete.