Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for more than four months and is currently on trial. President Joe Biden on Wednesday reassured her wife that he's working to win Griner’s freedom as soon as possible, the White House said.
The call was placed as Griner’s family has become more aggressive in pressuring the Biden administration by speaking out about her case, including Brittney Griner's letter to the president and television interviews by Cherelle Griner, in which she has said she did not think the government was doing enough to bring her wife home.
"While I will remain concerned and outspoken until she is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wife’s letter and took the time to respond," she continued in a statement shared on Instagram. “I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten.” Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” in an interview Tuesday that it was “disheartening” to her that she had yet to hear from Biden during her wife's detention.
“This has been top of mind for the president,” she said. Jean-Pierre added that Biden is updated daily on the status of efforts to win freedom for Brittney Griner and other Americans the U.S. government believes are being wrongfully detained in Russia and elsewhere.In one, she wrote, “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 accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.
Griner’s supporters have encouraged a prisoner swap like one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy.
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