Brittney Griner, a WNBA champion, announced that she was writing a memoir about her nearly ten months spent in a Russian prison. She added that she hoped the book would help spread awareness about other Americans who are still wrongfully detained overseas.
On February 17, 2022, Ms. Griner, one of the best basketball players in the world who has been with the Phoenix Mercury for a decade now, was arrested in Russia after authorities claimed she had hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow-area airport. That day, according to Ms. Griner, was the start of a period that would end up being “incredibly challenging.” A period that she is only now comfortable discussing.
“Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world,” Griner said in an Instagram post. Her memoir will provide a close look into “the terrifying aspects of day-to-day life in a women’s penal colony,” read a statement from the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, and the audiobook’s producer, Penguin Random House. The book is anticipated to be released in the spring of 2024.
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During a prisoner swap in December, the U.S. government was able to secure Ms. Griner’s release in exchange for freeing Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer convicted in 2011 of plotting to kill American citizens. The exchange of Mr. Bout’s release for Ms. Griner’s release sparked a discussion about the propriety of freeing Americans who the United States believes have been wrongfully imprisoned and whether or not conducting such a swap would inspire enemy nations to kidnap more Americans.
Ms. Griner, who turned 32 while incarcerated, was freed as a result of a public campaign spearheaded by her friends, family, and teammates that put tremendous pressure on the Biden administration. Her release was hailed by sports celebrities, such as WNBA players who had popularized the #WeAreBG hashtag on social media and emblazoned the phrase on warm-up shirts.
However, the Biden administration’s failure to also obtain the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine whom the administration has also labeled as “wrongfully detained”, as part of the exchange for Mr. Bout, dampened the excitement.
Ms. Griner stated that she wished to draw attention to the situations of other Americans who are being held overseas, such as Mr. Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia and accused of espionage.
The State Department declared Mr. Gershkovich as having been “wrongfully detained.” This indicates that the U.S. government views Mr. Gershkovich as a political hostage and believes the accusations against him are false. The charges are fiercely refuted by The Wall Street Journal.
Days after being released from a Russian prison colony, Ms. Griner declared that the preceding ten months had been “a battle at every turn.” During her time in Russia, she had admitted guilt to a low-level drug charge and was given a nine-year sentence.
“I dug deep to keep my faith, and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going,” Ms. Griner said in December during her first public statement after her release. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
