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Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury warms up earlier than the sport towards the Chicago Sky throughout Recreation One of many 2021 WNBA Finals on October 10, 2021 at Footprint in Phoenix, Arizona.
Michael Gonzales | Nationwide Basketball Affiliation | Getty Photographs
Detained American basketball participant Brittney Griner was discovered to be in good situation by a U.S. Embassy official in Moscow who was granted entry to her on Wednesday, State Division spokesman Ned Value stated.
Griner, an Olympic gold medalist and All-Star participant, has been detained in a Russian prison throughout a time of heightened tensions between the US and Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The State Division has been pushing Russian authorities for entry to the sports activities star.
“Inside the previous couple hours, an official from our embassy has been granted consular entry to Brittney Griner,” Value stated in an interview with CNN.
“Our official discovered Brittney Griner to be in good situation and we are going to proceed to do every thing we will to see to it that she is handled pretty all through this ordeal.”
The WNBA stated final week it was working with the U.S. authorities to get Griner freed after the TASS information company stated her detention for possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil was prolonged till Could 19.
The WNBA stated it continued to work with authorities officers and others to get her dwelling safely. “This continues to be a posh state of affairs that’s extraordinarily tough for Brittney, her household and all who’re hoping for a swift decision,” it stated in an announcement Wednesday.
Griner, 31, received Olympic gold medals with the U.S. nationwide groups in 2016 and 2021 and is a seven-time All-Star. She performs middle for the Phoenix Mercury and performs in Russia in the course of the WNBA’s winter low season.
It was not clear precisely when Griner was detained, however it was introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which dramatically worsened relations between Washington and Moscow.
TASS stated the Khimkinsky court docket of the Moscow area dominated to detain Griner.
The Russian Customs Service stated this month {that a} participant was detained in February after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from New York.
A scan of the participant’s baggage revealed cartridges containing “liquid with cannabis oil”, and a felony case has been opened carrying a attainable sentence of 5 to 10 years in jail, the customs service stated.
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