“(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 achievements, I am terrified that I could be here forever,” she wrote, according to a statement released by the communications company representing the Griner family.
Griner, 31, who played in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was arrested Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and charged her with smuggling significant quantities of the drug, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. She appeared in court near Moscow on Friday on drug smuggling charges.
Griner’s supporters and US officials say she was wrongfully detained and have called for her release as concerns mount that she is being used as a political pawn amid rising tensions between Russia and the US.
Griner’s letter to Biden, according to the communications company’s statement, was delivered to the White House on Monday morning. Three excerpts of the letter have been made public, while the rest are being kept secret, the statement said.
“On the 4th of July, our family usually honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War. It pains me to think about how I usually celebrate this day, because freedom means something completely different to me this day of the year,” Griner wrote to Biden.
“I realize you’re dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American prisoners. Please do whatever you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for anything you can do at this time to bring me home.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Greener’s wife, Cheryl, told CNN last week that she wants U.S. officials to do whatever it takes to bring the basketball legend home — and she needs to see them do more.
In the only interview she has given on the eve of her wife’s trial in Russia, Cheryl Greener sat in the Phoenix Mercury locker room and called for more action.
“It’s really, really hard. This is not a situation where the rhetoric matches the action,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have to push people to make sure the things they say to me match their actions, so it’s been the hardest thing to balance because I can’t let go. It’s been over 130 days and BG still not back.”
The US House of Representatives last month passed a bipartisan resolution calling on the Russian government to immediately release the WNBA star.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t think about Britney and work to bring her home,” Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, who sponsored the resolution, said in a statement. “We will continue to push for her release and make sure she is not forgotten.”
Stanton previously served as mayor of Phoenix, where Greener played for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.
Stanton introduced the resolution in May along with Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Colin Allred of Texas, Griner’s home state.
“I am grateful for this tremendous support from Congress. We must do everything we can to keep Britney’s case in the forefront and finally put an end to this nightmare,” Cheryl Greener said in a statement at the time.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Britney Griner’s first name.
CNN’s Abby Philip, Steve Almasy, Homero de la Fuente and Rachel Gianfaza contributed to this report.
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