Former US Marine Trevor Reed this week called on the Biden administration to step up efforts to rescue WNBA star Brittney Griner and other American inmates in Russia, while detailing his own ‘horror’ prison experience before being released last month.
Brittney Griner, 31, of the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on narcotics charges at a Moscow airport on February 18. Russian investigators claim she entered the country using vape cartridges containing hash oil, which is prohibited in Russia.
Griner was in Russia on a reputed $1 million deal to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, but now faces up to ten years in a work camp for narcotics smuggling.
Reed also urged the US to do more to repatriate fellow American captive Paul Whelan, who was charged with spying in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
‘We all have a responsibility to speak up for these Americans, because we are all Americans,’ Reed said.
Reed, who was released in exchange for a drug trafficker, spoke out in support of Griner at a demonstration in Houston on Monday, describing prison conditions as “absolutely unfriendly,” with rotten food and little medical treatment.
‘It’s like waking up in a nightmare every day you’re in prison there,’ he said.
‘In Russia, there is no justice,’ Reed remarked. ‘In Russia, Britney and Paul will not obtain justice. They aren’t going to get a fair trial, and they aren’t going to get a fair inquiry. They will be held as captives there until the US frees them.’
Because the country’systematically discriminates’ against persons who are black or LGBTQ, Reed believes Griner will endure harsher conditions and bigger problems than he or fellow American prisoner Paul Whelan did.
At a protest on Monday, Reed told supporters that they should contact Congress to get Griner and Whelan, as well as other incarcerated Americans, sent home.
‘Write them, call them, irritate them,’ Reed said. ‘Tell them you want Brittney back, as well as the rest of the Americans who are being held illegally, and you want it done soon.’
LeBron James, the NBA star, is the latest celebrity to call on the Biden administration to return Griner’swiftly and safely.’
Some members of the Boston Celtics used their platform at the NBA championship series last weekend to add their voices to the uproar requesting that Griner be allowed to return home.
Several players wore black T-shirts with the words ‘We Are BG’ in orange letters on the front for Saturday’s NBA Finals practice session.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the United States, is charged with cocaine smuggling, which carries a potential sentence of ten years in jail.
‘She’s been kept illegally in Russia for almost 100 days,’ NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. ‘I believe it is something on which we should all be heard, so please contact your representatives and others.
‘I’ll just say that we’re working hand in hand with the US administration and independent specialists to speed up her release in any manner we can. Certainly, our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family, and we look forward to her safe return.’
Officials in Russia have framed Griner’s case as a criminal matter with no political overtones. However, Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine has reduced relations between the United States and Russia to their lowest point since the Cold War.
Despite the tensions, Russia and the US made a surprise prisoner swap last month, exchanging Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal term for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the US.
While such deals are not usually welcomed by the US, the arrangement was reached in part because Yaroshenko had already completed a significant portion of his term. Griner may be seen as someone who could be involved in another similar swap by the Russians.
Grant Williams, a Celtics guard, assisted in the planning of Saturday’s event, working with the NBPA and the WNBA’s player association.
He believes it’s critical that NBA players show Griner ‘that love and support.’
The WNBA has commemorated Griner’s absence this season in a variety of ways, including social media tributes from several players and a decal with her initials and number placed on the home floor of each of the league’s 12 teams.
The Biden administration claims Griner is being held illegally, despite the fact that the WNBA and US officials have been working on her release for months with no evident results. Her detention, according to the White House, is unconstitutional.
Her case was handed up to the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) in early May, whose job it is to negotiate the release of hostages and other Americans who have been illegally incarcerated.
The claims against Griner have not been proven in court, and various public figures, including US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, have accused the Russian government of falsely accusing Griner and other Americans detained in Russia.
In a Moscow court, the Olympian pled not guilty to the accusations.
Russian officials have chastised the United States, claiming that state representatives are attempting to ‘influence justice’ by poking their noses into the process.
Her detention, according to Russian officials, is based on “actual facts and proof.” ‘She was busted while attempting to smuggle hash oil. This is a felony in Russia,’ according to a statement acquired by CNN.
According to her lawyer, Alexander Boikov, the relatively short extension of her imprisonment indicated that the matter will go to trial soon.
‘The charges are significant, and they are founded on objective facts and evidence. The State Department’s attempts to raise doubt on B. Griner’s imprisonment are explained primarily by a desire to influence justice by politicizing a generally understandable circumstance,’ according to the statement.
‘In this case, the court should make the final point.’
A State Department official in Moscow was granted consular access to Griner last month after repeated requests, and the basketball star, who was the first pick in the WNBA draft, was in ‘excellent condition.’
‘We were able to check on her condition, and we will continue to work closely with her legal team, as well as her larger network, to ensure that she is treated fairly,’ a spokesperson said at the time.
‘Our official discovered Brittney Griner in good health, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure she is treated fairly during this process,’ said the statement.
Her main complaint was that the jail’s prison beds were too short for her 6-foot-9 size.
Griner, a seven-time All-Star who also plays center for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, won Olympic gold medals with the US national teams in 2016 and 2021 and is a seven-time All-Star, was drawn to the Russian league because of the larger salary.