Brittney Griner Meets With U.S. Embassy Officials in Russia Following Failed Appeal

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Brittney Griner, two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time WNBA All-Star, met with U.S. embassy officials in Moscow, more than a week after a Russian court denied her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence. 

Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony in August on drug chargers, is “doing as well as can be expected,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed Thursday following the meeting with U.S. officials. 

Brittney Griner is seen on a TV screen as she waits to appear in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service prior to a hearing at the Moscow Regional Court, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

“The State Department just confirmed that U.S. embassy officials in Moscow are able to visit Brittney Griner today,” Jean-Pierre said. “We are told she’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.” 

BRITTNEY GRINER’S WIFE SPEAKS OUT ON DENIED APPEAL: ‘THIS IS JUST ABSURD’

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, revealed in an interview this week that she spoke with the Phoenix Mercury star a week before the appeal hearing, but noted that her “mind is fading in here.” 

Jean-Pierre said the White House continues to follow up on its “significant offer” to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, “despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians.” 

“As we have said before, the U.S. government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detention of American citizens – Brittney Griner and Paul Whalen. I can also tell you that in the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with Russians through all available channels.

Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing in Khimki, just outside Moscow, on Aug. 4, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

“This continues to be a top priority.” 

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Last week, a Russian court upheld Griner’s nine-year sentence. Her attorneys said after the appeal was denied that the sentence was “excessive” and contradictory.

“The verdict contains numerous defects and we hoped that the court of appeal would take them into consideration. We still think the punishment is excessive and contradicts the existing court practice,” their statement at the time read.

Griner’s wife said Tuesday that, as of now, “there is nothing more to expect from a legal standpoint.”

Cherelle Griner, wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, speaks during a news conference in Chicago, July 8, 2022.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

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“That was the complete end of it,” she said. “There is nothing more to expect from a legal standpoint, and all eggs now are in a basket for our government and for America to see how important this issue is because this could happen to anybody, and we should be praying that we have a country that recognizes the importance of that and are willing to actually go get our Americans and bring them back home.”

Russia has continued to caution the U.S. to conduct all prisoner swap negotiations “in silence under a tight lid on any information.”