Brittney Griner’s wife pleads with Biden to secure WNBA star’s release

WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in detention after nearly 100 days, and her wife is making a desperate plea for the Biden administration to take her case more seriously.

Cherelle Griner sat down with Good Morning America for her first interview since her wife was detained by Russian authorities earlier this year; the WNBA star is accused of bringing THC-infused vape cartridges into the country, where they are banned.

In her interview, she called on President Joe Biden to make any concessions necessary to bring Ms Griner home.

Of the president, she said: “He has that power. You know, I'm just like, "Why are we not using it? Like, urgently, use it...We're expecting him to use his power to get it done.”

She confirmed that she wanted to meet with the president, adding: “I just keep hearing that he has the power, she's a political pawn, so if they're holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”

Ms Griner was allegedly detained while attempting to leave Russia with a bag of vape cartridges containing a derisive of cannabis oil.

While the cartridges are legal in most parts of the world, they are banned in Russia under “part 2 of Article 229.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (drug smuggling)”, the statement added.

She faces up to 10 years in prison in Russia, and appeared in court on Friday for a hearing on whether or not her detention will be extended. The outcome of that hearing remains unclear.

US officials had not described Ms Griner’s arrest as wrongful until this month. That followed the negotiated release of former US Marine Trevor Reed, who was also detained in Russia.

The Associated Press and Gino Spocchia contributed reporting.