U.S. government officials recently announced that WNBA star Brittney Griner was “wrongfully detained” in Russia.
According to a statement released to ESPN, they stated that they are set to work on Griner’s release following their determination.
“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad [are] among the highest priorities of the U.S government. The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner,” they wrote. “With this determination, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will lead the interagency team for securing Brittney Griner’s release.”
The sports outlet also said a source close to the 31-year-old confirmed that former United Nations U.S. ambassador, Bill Richardson, agreed to assist her legal team with her case. He recently worked on the successful release of former Marine Trevor Reed, as he negotiated to retrieve international hostages for many years.
Although Griner isn’t a hostage–her classification as a wrongful detainee is entirely different–he still planned to help work on her release.
“Brittney has been detained for 75 days, and our expectation is that the White House do whatever is necessary to bring her home,” her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, told ESPN.
In February, the Phoenix Mercury’s all-star center was detained after Russian customs officials claimed she tried to smuggle vape cartridges containing hashish oil into their country.
They said they searched her luggage and found the cartridges at the Sheremetyevo International Airport airport in Moscow.
Griner reportedly hasn’t been formally charged, but she was scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in a few weeks, on May 19. Her new status would mean that the U.S. has considered the legal proceedings to be irrelevant to her case, but it would not mean that Russia has changed its view of her detainment.
Activist and journalist Tamryn Spruill recently created a petition to get the famed basketball player home swiftly and safely.
“Griner is a beloved global citizen who has used her platform since her entry into the WNBA to help others,” she wrote on the petition’s page.
She has reached 109,014 of her 150,000-signature goal thus far.
