Russia allowing Brittney Griner to communicate with WNBA teammates via email
Imprisoned basketball star has been detained by Russian authorities on drug charges for more than 100 days
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Your support makes all the difference.Brittney Griner has been allowed by Russian authorities to receive hundreds of emails and letters from players of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) while behind bars.
The imprisoned basketball star has been detained by Russian authorities on drug charges for more than 100 days since her February arrest at an airport near Moscow.
Officials said that vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly discovered in her luggage.
Griner is not allowed access to an email account set up for her by her agent. However, her Russian lawyers can print them out and take them to her after they are vetted by officials.
The athlete can then write a response on paper and her lawyers will take a picture of it, or she can dictate a response if there is no paper available.
Los Angeles Sparks player Amanda Zahui B said she was amazed to get a response from the Phoenix Mercury star.
“When she responded to my second letter it blew me away,” Zahui B said. “I was like she responded!! In my third letter, I was like ‘hey best friend, we are officially best friends now.’”
She added: “She jokes in her letters. I don’t know how she does it with what she’s going through. She’s an amazing soul.
“She brings light in a situation like this. I don’t think a lot of people could manage to do that.”
US officials have said they view 31-year-old Griner’s detention as a wrongful one and have called on the Kremlin to release her.
In May, her imprisonment was extended another month until the middle of June. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail if convicted on drug smuggling charges.
Former marine Trevor Reed was released from prison in April as part of a US prisoner exchange with Moscow after serving three years. American Paul Whelan is also serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges that his family says are false.
Additional reporting by agencies
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