Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drew universal condemnation from governments and nations alike, who have since boycotted Russian goods, froze Russia’s access to banking systems, and imposed harsh sanctions. And amid growing economic fallout, families and supporters of Griner and other American detainees like Trevor Reid and Paul Whelan are working to free their loved ones as diplomatic channels disappear. Russian authorities said Griner had cannabis oil in her luggage when she was at a Moscow airport last month and charged her with smuggling large amounts of drugs, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Reid and Whelan were arrested and convicted of the alleged crimes. they vehemently denied it long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the couple remain in prison, serving lengthy sentences that U.S. officials have called unfair.
Here’s what we know about their arrest.
Authorities have not released Griner’s whereabouts.
Griner, a two-time Olympian in basketball, is a star in both the US and Russia, and regularly plays a central role in the success of his teams, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and Russian club UMMC Yekaterinburg. Many details of her detention in Moscow remain in question, including the exact date of her detention and her current whereabouts. Those close to Griner expressed disappointment at the detention and the lack of clarity from the Russian authorities. In an Instagram post, Griner’s wife, Cherell, described the agony of anticipation.
“There are no words to express this pain. It hurts me, we hurt,” she said.
The Biden administration is working to get Griner out of Russia, members of the congressional black group said after meeting with President Joe Biden on Monday.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, representing Griner’s hometown of Houston, said in a statement that she spoke about Griner during the meeting and noted that “it is imperative that she be released immediately and that she receive the assistance of the United States to demand and facilitate this release.
But a U.S. representative warned CNN on Monday that getting her home “would be very difficult.”
“Our diplomatic relations with Russia do not exist at the moment,” said Congressman John Garamendi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
The Reid family spoke with President Biden on Tuesday
Reid, a former U.S. Marine detained in Russia since 2019, was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 for endangering the “life and limb” of Russian police officers after a night of drinking, according to state news agency TASS.
According to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Russian authorities said Reed resisted arrest and attacked the officers when they responded to complaints about the unrest.
Alina Tsybulnik, a friend of Reed’s who was with him that night, vehemently disputed the police allegations, telling TASS, “(The police) are constantly changing their story … in my opinion, Reed was too drunk to resist them.”
Reed and his family have denied the allegations, with US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan calling the trial “theater of the absurd” after the 2020 verdict.
Joey and Paula Reid, Trevor’s parents, spoke to Biden on Tuesday shortly after waving to a passing presidential motorcade in Fort Worth, Texas, the family said.
An attempt to arrange a meeting with Biden before the visit was turned down, the family said, but Biden later spoke to them by phone.
“I just can’t imagine what you’re going through,” Biden heard a CNN producer and other reporters at the scene over a mobile phone speaker. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t think about it all the time.”
The Reeds became emotional and walked away from reporters for the remainder of their conversation with the President, but Paula Reed later shared details of the call, including that Biden told them that he “thinks about Trevor every day and that he feels terrible about that he has not yet succeeded in bringing Trevor home. And he said, “We’re not going to stop.”
In recent weeks, Trevor Reed has said he is coughing up blood and his family is concerned that he has tuberculosis. Joey Reed said that as recently as Monday, he was talking to his son and asked Trevor if he would like to pass on a message to Biden.
“He said, ‘I have nothing to say to the president. I think they forgot about me,” Reid said. “We didn’t (forgot about him). We love our son and we will fight until death to bring him back home.”
Family insists on Whelan’s release
Paul Whelan, a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen and former US Marine, was detained in a Moscow hotel in 2018 and arrested on charges of espionage, which he has consistently denied. In June 2020, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial widely condemned by US officials as unfair. a garment factory, which he called a “sweatshop” and said that “getting medical help here is very difficult.”
Whelan lived through his plight “day by day,” he told CNN, and tried to maintain a “positive mental attitude” to the situation.
His family said that Whelan was the target of retribution, including serving time in solitary confinement where he was not allowed to shower or exercise. Whelan’s siblings have been in contact with him for the past three years and have spoken on his behalf before lawmakers in Washington, D.C., while his sister Elizabeth Whelan has praised American officials in Moscow for their work. But the latest tension between the two countries is likely to complicate the effort.
“The unfortunate part of protecting someone who is wrongfully detained is that you have to make your presence known. There is always a crisis going on and you have to constantly remind people that there is an American who is being held by a hostile foreign nation, often one with whom we have some sort of relationship, and that this situation must end,” Elizabeth Whelan told CNN in December.
She praised her brother’s perseverance, adding that he is “bound and determined to survive this situation and he is not going to give in to the Russians. He’s not going to show weakness.”
CNN’s Holly Yang, Lucy Kafanov, Rosa Flores, Wayne Sterling, Chris Boyett, Megan Vasquez, Ashley Killow, Ed Lavandera, Raja Razek and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.