Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to imprison journalists who dare to report truthfully about Russia’s merciless invasion of Ukraine. His police have arrested scores of anti-invasion protesters, just as they have imprisoned hundreds of political dissidents with impunity.
Now the latest target and pawn in Putin’s mayhem is Brittney Griner, the WNBA player from Houston.
As she was leaving Russia last month, Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport and charged with transporting vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage, a drug offense that could draw a 10-year prison sentence. While little else about the incident is known publicly, this smacks of Putin returning to a familiar playbook of trumped up arrests and detentions to seek concessions and political leverage.
American detainees in Russia receiving harsh treatment from their judicial system is not uncommon, which is why the U.S. State Department intensified calls for Americans to leave Russia immediately to avoid “potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials.” In addition to Griner, two other Americans are being held in Russia for offenses that U.S. officials say are trumped up.
Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year prison sentence for espionage for allegedly possessing a flash drive of Russian secrets. Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and later convicted in a secret trial, says he received the flash drive from an acquaintance and thought it contained family photos.
Trevor Reed, a former Marine security guard, was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of intentionally endangering the lives of police after a night of drinking. U.S. officials said “the evidence was so flimsy and preposterous.” Reed’s family in Texas says he is suffering from tuberculosis and has been denied medicine, phone calls with his relatives, or written communications with his attorneys in recent weeks.
Griner, who like many WNBA players was playing overseas for a payday that is much larger than they could earn in the United States, apparently was the only player still in Russia and Ukraine, according to a WNBA spokeswoman. Her prominence may have made her a convenient target.
Griner, Reed and Whelan should be released and allowed to return to the United States.
Although the United States promises “to provide every possible assistance,” getting detained American citizens out of Russia during a time of heightened tensions figures to be a very heavy lift.
— Tribune News Service
