In recent days, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to imprison journalists who dare to report truthfully about Russia’s merciless invasion of Ukraine. His police also have arrested scores of anti-invasion protesters across Russia. Nor is it a secret that for years Putin has imprisoned hundreds of political dissidents with remarkable impunity.
Now the latest target and pawn in Putin’s mayhem seems to be Brittney Griner, the former Baylor University basketball star and 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, including when exactly it occurred, 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, a BorgWarner executive, 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 North Texan and 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 Granbury 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. His parents told The Dallas Morning News that they were disappointed after the White House declined their request to meet with President Joe Biden when he visits Fort Worth Tuesday.
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.
