Don’t ‘forget about me’: Brittney Griner pleads with Joe Biden in letter from Russia

The two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA star has been in a Russian prison since she was arrested in February on charges of possessing cannabis oil.

Brittney Griner has made an appeal to President Joe Biden in a letter passed to the White House through her representatives saying she feared she might never return home and asking that he not “forget about me and the other American Detainees.”

Griner’s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas said the letter was delivered on Monday. Most of the letter’s contents to President Biden remain private, though Griner’s representatives shared a few lines from the handwritten note.

″…As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote.

“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran,” the Phoenix Mercury centre added. “It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

The two-time Olympic gold medallist is in the midst of a trial in Russia that began last week after she was arrested on Feb. 17 on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for her Russian team. The trial will resume Thursday.

Fewer than 1 per cent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in U.S. courts, acquittals can be overturned.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said Tuesday morning she has not had any direct communication with President Biden since the letter was delivered to the White House.

“I still have not heard from him and honestly, it’s very disheartening,” Cherelle Griner said on CBS Mornings.