How the White House is Handling Brittney Griner's Russia Detention
Brittney Griner returns to a Russian court as her trial resumes
Russia continued to make its case against Brittney Griner at her trial on Thursday, more than 140 days since the WNBA star was arrested at a Moscow-area airport on drug charges.
It marks Griner's second court appearance since her trial began in earnest last Friday. A judge had previously ordered her to be detained for the length of the trial, which her lawyer has said could last up to two months and will likely involve several hearings by the prosecution before the defense gets its turn.
Biden under fire for handling of Brittney Griner's detention in Russia
The Biden administration is facing intense scrutiny over its handling of WNBA star Brittney Griner's detention in Russia, with some questioning the White House's commitment to helping based on Griner's race and gender.
Detained in Russia since Feb. 17 on marijuana-related charges, Griner has penned a letter to President Joe Biden while her friends and family plead with the administration to help. The State Department deemed her wrongfully detained in May, and Biden met with her wife, Cherelle, on Wednesday.
Amid Brittney Griner trial, Russia says prisoner swaps 'difficult'
Russia said on Thursday that it was difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the U.S. basketball star detained in Russia on drugs charges.
Referring to a letter that U.S. President Joe Biden intends to send to Griner according to NBC news, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "hype" around the case does not help, and that "this kind of correspondence does not help".