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Nearly 1,200 prominent black women have signed a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris urging the administration to secure Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison, an escalation of a pressure campaign by supporters of the WNBA star that comes as her trial continues in a court outside Moscow.
The letter, which was delivered to the White House on Tuesday afternoon, was signed by a collection of black women leaders from the fields of sports, entertainment, labor, business, politics and faith. It alleges that Griner is “enduring inhumane conditions” during her incarceration and says: “It is imperative, President Biden, that you address this ongoing human rights crisis and strike a deal to bring Britney home quickly and safely “.
The letter arrived one day after a letter to Biden from the Phoenix Mercury Center, handwritten from her cell, was delivered to the White House on Independence Day. In Griner’s letter, excerpts of which were released by her agents, she wrote, “I’m terrified that I could be here forever” and asked Biden to do “whatever you can do at this time to bring me home.”
Asked for comment about Griner’s letter to Biden, Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, told The Washington Post: “[Biden’s] The team is in regular contact with Britney’s family and we will continue to work to support her family. … The US government continues to work aggressively – using all available means – to bring her home.”
“Terrified” Brittney Greener wrote to Biden to press for her freedom
Griner, 31, was arrested in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow when customs officials found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. At the time, she was returning to the country to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian team, for whom she played during the WNBA offseason. In early May, the State Department declared Griner’s case an “unlawful detainer,” an official classification that elevated him to the office of the U.S. president’s special envoy for hostage matters.
Her trial began on Friday and is expected to continue on Thursday; Griner has yet to comment. She is expected to be found guilty – roughly 99 percent of Russian criminal trials end in convictions – and could face up to 10 years in prison.
After Friday’s hearing, US chargé d’affaires Elizabeth Rudd, who was in attendance, said in a statement that US officials were working “at the highest level” to bring Greener home. After being able to speak with Griner in the courtroom, Rudd said, “She is doing well, as expected under these difficult circumstances.”
Among the women who signed the letter delivered Tuesday were Bernice King, CEO of the King Center and daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.; actress Annika Noni Rose; singer Ledisi; TV presenters Sean Robinson and Sunny Hostin; former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile; former Black Entertainment Television executive Debra L. Lee; activist and former NAACP president Hazel Dukes; University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley; and numerous WNBA players, coaches and executives.
“The letter is support — support from a group of black women trying to save another black woman. It’s that simple,” Staley said in a phone interview Tuesday. “… I think about Britney all day, every day. I try to put myself in her shoes and I would like someone to fight for me – people who won’t shut up.
With little hope of an acquittal, Griner’s supporters have in recent weeks sought to increase public pressure on the Biden administration to secure her release through diplomatic channels, an effort complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
But in Tuesday’s letter, Greener’s supporters asked for greater urgency: “More than prioritizing her immediate return,” it said, “you must make it a case and make a deal to bring Britney home.” .
“Enough is enough. I don’t want to count any more days,” said Terry Jackson, executive director of the WNBA players’ union and one of the organizers of the letter, referring to the fact that Tuesday marks Greener’s 138th day in prison. Biden and Harris, she added, were “elected by voters who look a lot like my constituents. This letter is going to be powerful. This letter is going to make them pay attention.
Opinion: Britney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple
The letter, organized by the collective network #WinWithBlackWomen, also called on Biden and/or Harris to meet with Greener’s wife, Cheryl, and pointed out that an arranged phone call between Greener last month fell through because there was no one to serve at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to patch the call, an oversight the State Department called a “logistical error.”
“I will not be silent any longer,” Cheryl Greener said Tuesday on “CBS Mornings.” “I’m going to find that balance between harm and help by getting our government to do everything it can.” [Administration officials] they don’t move. They do nothing. My wife is struggling and we need to help her.
Speculation in Russian state media suggested a prisoner swap involving Griner and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill American citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization. But US officials have not commented on the likelihood of such an exchange. In April, U.S. officials secured the release of former Marine Trevor Reed from Russia in a prisoner swap.
“We have to do whatever it takes to get Britney back on American soil,” Staley said. “Whatever that is.”
Also Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, called on Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to arrange a visit by him and other faith leaders to Greener, Russia.
“After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Greener’s physical, mental and spiritual well-being,” Sharpton said in a statement. “Today I insist [the administration] to immediately bring myself and fellow religious leaders to Russia so we can pray for Britney in prison. She deserves to see the United States do something for her so that she can find strength while this show trial continues. … Four months is too long for this to go on, and I hope the president will honor her pleas to come home.
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