On Monday, Brittney Griner wrote to the White House on how terrified she is that she may be imprisoned in Russia “forever.”
Griner’s wife Cherelle told “CBS Mornings” that when she read the letter, she could feel the fear that Griner was experiencing.
“She is probably the strongest person that I know, so she doesn’t say words like that lightly. That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. You know, I share those same sentiments,” Cherelle said.
She added that she wants the White House to do a better job when it comes to bringing Brittney back to the United States.
“It kills me every time that I write to her, and she’s asking ‘Have you met with him yet?’ And I have to say no,” she told Gayle King, via Fox News. “I’m sure she’s like, ‘I’m going to write him and ask now because my family has tried to no avail, so I’m going to do it myself.'”
Cherelle said she has not heard from Biden directly and she said that is “very disheartening.”
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after officials in Russia claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage. A Russian judge ordered the Phoenix Mercury center to remain in custody. If convicted on drug smuggling charges, Griner could face 10 years in a Russian prison.
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Cherelle was baffled when she first heard about Griner being charged by the Russian government for a “large-scale transportation of drugs.”
“It blew my mind because I’m like large-scale? I live with B.G. every day, and so there’s no way possible. So I knew it wasn’t true the minute that I heard the charge because I know my wife. I’m like, no,” she said “It’s very unfortunate, you know, that she’s in this position because B.G. does not large-scale do anything in traffic of drugs. It was very very hard to hear that charge.”
Griner’s trial started last week and is expected to resume on July 7.
Cherelle said that she is working carefully to ensure that her wife is released from prison and is returned to the United States.
“Initially I was told, you know, we are going to try to reserve, we’re going to try to handle this behind scenes and let’s not raise her value and you know stay quiet. You know, I did that and respectfully, we’re over 140 days at this point. That does not work,” Cherelle said. “So I will not be quiet anymore. I will find that balance of, you know, harm versus help in pushing our government to do everything that’s possible because being quiet, they’re not moving, they’re not doing anything. So my wife is struggling, and we have to help her.”
