On December 8, 2022, Brittney Griner, the American basketball star, was released from a Moscow jail after nine months in detention on drug-related charges.
Her freedom was the result of a prisoner swap between the US and Russia, in which notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout was returned to Russia in exchange for Griner.
Upon her return to the United States, Griner called on her supporters to redirect their advocacy towards Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than two years on espionage charges.
In an Instagram post, Griner thanked her supporters for their “letters [that] helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined.” She also highlighted the power of collective action, noting that “together, we can do hard things.”
Griner continued to say, “However, there remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained. Those families stood alongside you and all who supported the WeAreBG Campaign to bring me home and it’s our turn to support them. I hope you’ll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families.”
US President Joe Biden affirmed in his remarks that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan” and that the US “will never give up” trying to negotiate for his freedom. Since Whelan’s arrest in 2018, the US has been denying the charges against him and advocating for his release.
It is important to note that Paul Whelan’s case is only one of several cases of Americans detained in Russia on what are widely seen as fabricated charges.
Griner was a pleasant surprise to many, and she probably has a better chance of getting Whelan home than the Biden admin.
View this post on Instagram
