Brittney Griner: Russia extends arrest of US basketballer for months

Two-time gold medalist, currently reading Russian novelist FM Dostoevsky and a biography of the Rolling Stones, will be in pre-trial detainment until at least 19 May

US basketball player Brittney Griner will remain under arrest in Moscow for at least two more months after a court granted an extension for investigators, according to Russia’s state news agency.

“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner until May 19,” the court said, TASS reported.

The 31-year-old WNBA star was detained by Russian Federal Customs Service at an airport near Moscow in February on drug charges.

She is sharing a cell with two other prisoners at a detention centre in Khimki City, about 14 miles northwest of downtown Moscow, according to human rights group Public Monitoring Commission.

Group member Ekaterina Kalugina is quoted by TASS as saying Ms Griner did not complain about the conditions during a recent visit to the facility.

WNBA star Brittney Griner appearing in a photo released by Russian officials following her detainment in Moscow. Ms Griner is accused by Russian law enforcement of trying to transport drugs. (screengrab)

"The only objective problem was the height of the basketball player – 203 centimetres," TASS quoted the activist. "The beds in the cell are clearly designed for a shorter person."

The two-time gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury star was playing for Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg when Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

Ms Kalugina added that Ms Griner’s two English-speaking cellmates, also detained on drug-related charges, have translated for prison guards and helped her order books, including novels from Russian writer FM Dostoevsky and a biography of the members of the Rolling Stones.

“In addition, for an unknown reason, the US consul does not come to [see Griner], although the administration of the pre-trial detention centre is ready to create all conditions for a visit.”

The White House has been reluctant to comment on whether her detention was being used by Mr Putin as a “bargaining chip” in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her daily briefing that discussing specifics of Ms Griner’s case was “not constructive to bringing people home”.

“Well, we have, of course, seen the reports, I cannot speak to the specifics of it as we do not have a Privacy Act waiver, but our objective is always to bring American citizens home who are detained in foreign countries, so that will remain our focus and that is what we would like to see the end outcome to be,” she said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also been circumspect when discussing her arrest on charges of “large scale transportation of drugs”, reported by The New York Times to be cannabis oil used in vape pens.

(Federal Customs of Russia)

“There’s only so much I can say given the privacy considerations at this point,” he said earlier this month.

Former diplomats, however, likened it to a “hostage situation”. Daniel Fried, who was assistant secretary of state for Europe and US ambassador to Poland, told The Washington Post it wouldn’t be surprising for Ms Griner to be framed for political gain.

“I can’t say definitively she didn’t, but the first thought I had when I read about [the arrest] is this sounds like taking an American hostage,” said the assistant secretary of state for Europe under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

“The American embassy and the US government has been aware of the possibility of the Russians using Americans in Moscow as bargaining chips.”