It's the perfect storm. For another person in another country at another time, the case might have been minor, but the circumstances for Texas-native Brittney Griner couldn't have been worse.
- It's the perfect storm. For another person in another country at another time, the case might have been a minor matter: an American citizen detained at an airport for allegedly possessing a cannabis derivative legal in much of the world.Griner, a WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested in Russia, where the offense can mean years in prison, and at a moment when tensions with the U.S. were rising to their highest point in decades.
Griner is easily the most prominent American citizen known to be jailed by a foreign government, but in many ways her case isn't unusual. Americans are frequently arrested overseas on drug and other charges and U.S. authorities are limited about what they can say or the help they can offer. The State Department generally can't do much to help beyond consular visits and helping the American get an attorney.
U.S. officials have said they are tracking the case but have not spoken extensively about it, in part because Griner has not signed a full Privacy Act Waiver. The statements so far have been careful and restrained, focused on ensuring she has access to U.S. consular affairs officials - she had a meeting last month - rather than explicitly demanding her immediate release.
The State Department has been"doing everything we can to support Brittney Griner to support her family, and to work with them to do everything we can, to see that she is treated appropriately and to seek her release," spokesman Ned Price said last month. Last week, he said the U.S. was in frequent contact with her legal team and"broader network."
Some Griner supporters, including Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, have maintained that her case would be getting more attention if she weren't a Black woman.
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