Griner wrote in a letter delivered to Biden on Monday that she fears she could be detained in Russia indefinitely. “As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any achievement, I fear I may be here forever,” he is quoted as saying in an extract of the letter. CNN said earlier this week. Griner wrote: “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget me and the other American prisoners. Do what you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe to you. I still have so many things to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now I am grateful for anything you can do right now to bring me home,” she wrote. The White House said Biden “offered his support to Cheryl and Brittney’s family and pledged to ensure they receive all possible assistance while his administration pursues every avenue to bring Brittney home.” Biden also asked his team to stay in “regular contact” with the families of Sherrell and Brittney Griner. Griner, 31, who has played in Russia during the WNBA’s offseason, was arrested on February 17 at a Moscow airport, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian authorities claimed she had hemp oil in her luggage and charged her with smuggling significant quantities of the drug, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He was arraigned in a court near Moscow on Friday on charges of drug smuggling. Griner’s supporters and US officials say she has been wrongly arrested and have called for her release as fears grow that she is being used as a political pawn amid rising tensions between Russia and the US.
Other prisoners have yet to receive a response
A coalition of families of US hostages and prisoners who wrote a joint letter to Biden asking to meet with him has yet to receive a response, their spokesman said Wednesday. The statement about the lack of response to the “Bring Our Families Home” campaign came shortly before the news that Biden and Harris spoke with Cherelle Griner. In mid-June, the Bring Our Families Home campaign wrote a letter to Biden formally requesting a meeting with the campaign’s leadership team, stating that “it has become clear to us that without your immediate involvement, other issues will continue to overshadow the release of our innocent family members.” In the days following that letter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with families of Americans held hostage and illegally held abroad. He did not promise a meeting with Biden, but tried to assure them that the administration is doing everything possible to bring their loved ones home. Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for the campaign, said in a statement Wednesday that “so far, the Campaign has not received a response.” There is growing frustration among families of those illegally detained overseas who believe the Biden administration is not doing enough to secure the release of their loved ones. In recent weeks, several of the inmates themselves have appealed directly to Biden to try to get him to do more. Paul Whelan, who is also being held in Russia, said in a statement Monday: “As the United States celebrates Independence Day, American citizens held hostage around the world are reminded that freedom is not free.” Last week, Siamak Namazi, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2015, published an opinion piece in The New York Times, writing: “I am compelled to break this silence now because I believe that the Biden administration’s approach to the rescue of Americans in Iran has failed spectacularly so far, and unless the president intervenes immediately, we are likely to languish in this abyss for the foreseeable future.” Franks noted that “when wrongfully imprisoned Americans communicate publicly from behind bars, they risk being punished for doing so, which makes their courage all the more remarkable.” “That the loved ones of our families felt the need to write these open statements to President Biden speaks to the extent to which many hostage families feel let down, abandoned and often ghosted by the decision makers in the West Wing. When families receive ‘answers’ are often perfunctory and unresponsive,” he said in the statement. This story has been updated with additional information.
