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Brittney Griner: US House passes resolution calling for release


The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a bipartisan resolution calling on the Russian government to immediately release the WNBA star. Brittney Griner.

“Not a day goes by that we don’t think of Brittney and work to bring her home,” Democratic Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona, who sponsored the solution, said in a statement. “We will continue to push for her release and ensure that she is not forgotten.”

Stanton previously served as mayor of Phoenix, where Griner played for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.

Stanton introduced the resolution in May along with Democratic Delegates Sheila Jackson Lee and Colin Allred of Texas, Griner’s home state.

“I’m grateful for this overwhelming support from Congress. We need to do all we can to keep Brittney’s case and ultimately put an end to this nightmare,” said Cherelle Griner, Brittney’s wife. , said in a statement.

Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since February on drug smuggling charges and is officially classified as “wrongfully detained,” a State Department official told CNN in May. As a result, her case is being handled by the Office of the Special Envoy of the President of the United States for Hostage Affairs.

Russia’s state news agency Tass reported last week that he will continue to be detained in Russia until at least July 2, after the Russian court extended the detention period.

Griner was arrested at Moscow airport in February, when Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling a significant amount of the drug, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. five. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and star of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury played in Russia during the tournament’s season.

Paul Whelan, a US citizen and former Marine, is also being held in Russia. Whelan was arrested in Moscow on espionage charges in 2018 and later sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial that US officials accused of being unfair.

Trevor Reed, an American citizen and former Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2019, was released from Russia at the end of April as part of a prisoner exchange with the US. His passing has drawn renewed attention to the case of Whelan and Griner.

“This resolution sends a clear message: ensuring Brittney’s release should be the highest priority of the US Government and we know who it is,” said Terri Carmichael Jackson, executive director of the National Basketball Association. Americans support all efforts to bring her home.” Combination.

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