Nearly 1,200 prominent black women have signed a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, asking the administration to secure the release of Brittney Griner from a Russian prison, an escalation of the pressure campaign by the WNBA star’s supporters that comes as the trial her trial continues in a court outside Moscow. . The letter, which was delivered to the White House on Tuesday afternoon, was signed by a collection of black women leaders from the realms of sports, entertainment, labor, business, politics and faith. He argued that Griner was “enduring inhumane conditions” during her incarceration and said, “It is imperative, President Biden, that you address this ongoing human rights crisis and strike a deal to bring Brittney home quickly and safely. security”. The letter arrived a day after the Phoenix Mercury downtown delivered a letter to Biden, handwritten from her cell, at the White House on Independence Day. In Griner’s letter, excerpts of which were released by her agents, she wrote, “I’m afraid I might be here forever,” and asked Biden to do “whatever you can right now to get me home.” Asked to comment on Griner’s letter to Biden, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told the Washington Post:[Biden’s] The team is in regular contact with Brittney’s family and we will continue to work to support her family. … The US government continues to work aggressively — using every means available — to bring her home.” ‘Terrified’ Brittney Griner writes to Biden to push for her freedom Griner, 31, was arrested in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow when customs officials allegedly discovered vaping cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. At the time, she was returning to the country to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian team she plays for during the WNBA offseason. In early May, the State Department declared Griner’s case a “wrongful detention,” an official designation that elevated it to the office of the US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Her trial began on Friday and is expected to continue on Thursday. Griner has yet to speak. She is expected to be found guilty – an estimated 99 percent of Russian criminal trials result in guilty pleas – and could face up to 10 years in prison. After Friday’s hearing, US Chargé d’Affaires Elizabeth Rudd, who was present, said in a statement that US officials were working “at the highest levels” to bring Griner home. After being able to speak with Griner in the courtroom, Rudd said, “He’s doing as expected under these difficult circumstances.” Among the women who signed the letter delivered Tuesday was Bernice King, executive director of the King Center and the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. actress Anika Noni Rose; singer Ledisi; TV presenters Shaun Robinson and Sunny Hostin; former acting chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile; former CEO of Black Entertainment Television Debra L. Lee; activist and former NAACP president Hazel Dukes; University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley. and numerous players, coaches and executives from the WNBA. “The letter is support — support from a group of black women trying to save another black woman. It’s that simple,” Staley said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “… I think about Brittney all day, every day. I’m trying to put myself in her shoes, and I’d like someone to fight for me — people who won’t shut up.” With little hope of an acquittal, Griner’s supporters have sought in recent weeks to step up public pressure on the Biden administration to secure her release through diplomatic channels, an effort complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Russia since invasion of the latter in Ukraine. But in Tuesday’s letter, Griner’s supporters called for more urgency: “More than prioritizing her immediate return with words,” they said, “you need to do it in action and make a deal to bring Brittney home ». “That’s enough. I don’t want to count days anymore,” said Terri Jackson, executive director of the WNBA players’ association and one of the organizers of the letter, referring to the fact that Tuesday represented Griner’s 138th day in prison. Biden and Harris, he added, “were elected by voters who look a lot like my constituents. This letter will be powerful. This letter will make them pay attention.” Opinion: Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple The letter, organized by the collective #WinWithBlackWomen, also urged Biden and/or Harris to meet with Griner’s wife, Sherrell, and noted that a planned phone call between the Griners last month fell through because no one was available. to staff the US Embassy in Moscow to fix the call – a failure the State Department called an “accounting error”. “I’m not going to be quiet anymore,” Cherelle Griner said Tuesday on “CBS Mornings.” “I will find that balance of harm versus help to push our government to do everything possible. [Administration officials] they don’t move. They do nothing. My wife is struggling and we need to help her.” Speculation in Russian state media suggested a prisoner swap for Griner and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill US citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization. However, US officials have not commented on the possibility of such an exchange. In April, US officials secured the release of former Marine Trevor Reed from Russia in a prisoner swap. “We must do whatever is necessary to bring Brittney back to American soil,” Staley said. “Whatever that is.” Also on Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, called on Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to arrange a visit by him and other faith leaders to Griner in Russia. “After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental and spiritual well-being,” Sharpton said in a statement. “Today I urge [the administration] to bring myself and fellow religious leaders to Russia immediately to pray for Brittney in prison. She deserves to see the United States do something for her so she can find strength as this trying show continues. … Four months is too long for this to go on, and I hope the president responds to her calls to come home.”
