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Congressman Colin Allred recount TMZ Sports the united states is calling Britney Griner “basically a political prisoner” now in Russia … and said because of this, government officials have officially entered into negotiations with the foreign country to bring the WNBA superstar home.
We spoke with the representative on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon — just hours after it was announced that Griner’s detention in Russia would be extended until at least July 2 – and he confirmed to us that they have officially started talks with Russian leaders to try to bring Griner back to American soil.
“We are actively negotiating to get her out,” Allred said. “Basically, we have recognized and now understand that she is being held essentially as a political prisoner.
“In a way, that’s helpful,” Allred continued, “because now we can just have a discussion about, ‘What are you going to need to enable us to bring her home? ?'”
It looks like it will be an uphill battle to make the negotiations work, however… according to Russian state media TASS, a Russian diplomat said on Tuesday that the country would not consider swapping a detainee for Griner until his case ends in the system court.
It’s unclear when that date might be – she’s been in custody since mid-February as her case continues to move forward – but Allred told us they’re still doing everything they can to get it done as soon as possible. possible.
Regarding how Griner is doing while in custody, Allred said, “she’s as good as she could be under the circumstances, and the circumstances aren’t great.”
He said she could receive messages from loved ones through her lawyer.
“For all of us who worked on this, in some ways we knew this was going to be where we would end up, negotiating his release,” Allred said, “but we just hope that in the meantime, that she can stay strong, understand that there are a lot of people supporting her, and we’re doing everything we can to bring her home.”
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