Cherelle Griner is increasingly concerned about Brittney Griner’s mental health after a Russian court dismissed the NBA player’s appeal for a shorter prison sentence last month.
Tuesday on ABC’s The View, Cherelle Griner informed co-hosts that her wife was struggling the last time they spoke.
“She told me, ‘I’m trying to hold on to the last bit of you that I can remember,’” Cherelle Griner said. “She says, “My mind is disappearing in this place.” And it’s quite depressing to hear.”
Brittney Griner was arrested at the Moscow airport in February on suspicion that investigators detected hashish oil-containing vape cartridges in her luggage. During the WNBA offseason, the basketball star was in Russia playing with the Russian Premier League.
Tuesday’s interview with Cherelle Griner represented some of her first remarks since Brittney Griner’s nine-year sentence on cocaine smuggling charges was upheld last week.
“In all honesty, it was demoralizing. It was a big shock to me “Cherelle Griner remarked. “I mean, I realize, being in the legal area, that each state and country has its own set of laws. However, this is ludicrous.”
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Now, Cherelle Griner continues to hold out hope that the U.S. government will secure a prisoner exchange to bring her wife home.
“So, as of right now, that was the conclusion. From a legal perspective, there is nothing else to be expected “She stated, Because this might happen to anyone, it is imperative that our government and the United States recognize the gravity of this issue.
Since the Biden administration announced in August that it proposed exchanging Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has also been wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly four years, for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States, negotiations between the United States and Russia appear to have stalled.
Meredith Cash was warned by legal experts and hostage negotiators last week that Russia is too busy “creating disruption” to discuss.