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| Photo Credit: AP. |
US embassy officials in Moscow Thursday visited convicted WNBA star Brittney Griner in a Russian prison as diplomatic moves continues to see to her release.
In August
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Moscow court for smuggling
cannabis into the country. A Russian court ruled the U.S. basketball star
smuggled drugs into Russia “with criminal intent,” The Washington Times
reported.
State
prosecutors proposed a jail term of 9 and half years in prison for Ms. Griner.
Griner was
detained in February at Sheremetyevo Airport Moscow after vape canisters with
cannabis oil allegedly were found in her luggage. She faced charges related to
large scale transportation of drugs which carried a maximum 10 years in prison.
Griner had
earlier sent a letter to Joe Biden pleading for him to do everything possible
to secure her release and not to forget her and other American detainees in
Russia.
In October a
Russian court rejected her appeal against the nine years sentence.
In a tweet
after the visit, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the American
representatives “saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her
present circumstances.”
He said the
Biden administration was working for the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, who
was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage related charges.
Whelan is serving his term in a Russian prison.
The US
continues to maintain that Griner and Whelan are wrongfully detained by the
Russian government.
In a
statement White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Griner “is doing
as well as can be expected under the circumstances” and that the administration
was working “to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions” of
Griner and Whelan, The Associated Press reported.