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WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia has been extended by another couple of weeks, according to new reports.
The 18-day extension of Griner’s detention, which began in February, came at the “request of the investigation,” as Russian authorities accuse her of smuggling vape cartridges containing a cannabis oil known as hashish oil, which is illegal to possess in Russia, into the country, per Russian state outlet TASS. She will now be released on July 2 instead of her scheduled date of June 18, Russian officials said.
TREVOR REED, WHO WAS DETAINED IN RUSSIA, IS PUSHING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO BRING OTHERS HOME
Griner entered Russia on Feb. 17 while playing basketball for the Russian Premier League team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the offseason. However, she was arrested that day at the Sheremetyevo International Airport, near Moscow, after authorities allegedly found the hashish oil.
She is being held on pretrial detention that was extended first in March and again in May. Officials are mulling charges for the large-scale transportation of drugs, which could carry up to 10 years in prison if convicted, the New York Times reported.
The State Department maintains she has been “wrongfully detained” and has urged Russia to release her. Griner’s detention has become a key diplomatic pressure point between the United States and Russia as relations between the two nations have deteriorated amid the war in Ukraine, which began Feb. 24.
During her detention, Griner has been able to communicate with WNBA players via emails and letters, but the communications must first be vetted by Russian authorities before she can receive them, NBC reported.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Griner is not the only high-profile U.S. citizen to be held in Russia as tensions between the two nuclear-clad superpowers simmer. Trevor Reed, a former Marine who had been detained in Russia for almost three years, was released in an April prisoner swap, and Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen, remains detained in Russia.
Recently, Reed filed a petition with the United Nations to declare his detainment a breach of international law, saying he hoped the petition would “force Russia to end this practice for all Americans that they’re holding there, including Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” he told CNN.
