Cherelle Griner, the wife of detained American basketball star Brittney Griner, released a statement Wednesday following a phone call with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying, "I am grateful to the both of them for the time they spent with me and for the commitment they expressed to getting BG home."
Cherelle Griner has sought a meeting with the White House since not long after her wife was arrested Feb. 17 while trying to enter Russia. Brittney Griner's trial on drug smuggling charges is expected to resume Thursday in a Moscow-area courtroom. A hand-written letter from Brittney Griner was delivered to Biden on Monday, in which she wrote that she was "terrified" she might be stuck in Russia forever, and asked him to help bring her and other detained Americans home.
In Cherelle Griner's statement, which she posted on Instagram, she wrote, "While I will remain concerned and outspoken until she is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wife's letter and took the time to respond. I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten.
"I want to thank everyone who has fought so hard for BG. It means the world to my entire family as well as my wife.
"Please continue to pray for my family and all the other families of the wrongfully detained, as our pain remains active until our loved ones are brought home. Let's continue to use our voices to speak the names of all the wrongfully detained Americans and support the Administration as they do what it takes to bring them home today."
Brittney Griner's trial has been described by legal and foreign policy experts as "theater," as U.S. and Russian officials discuss a possible prisoner swap that would bring her home. Griner is expected to be found guilty, and might even plead guilty, knowing that Russia would require an admission of guilt before releasing her, sources close to her case said.