Brittney Griner Pens Holiday Letter Asking for Support for Paul Whelan
Lesbian WNBA champion Brittney Griner posted a holiday message to supporters this week, urging them to write to Paul Whelan, an American who is still detained in Russia.“Thanks to the efforts of many, including you, I am home after nearly 10 months.
You took time to show me you cared and I want to personally take the time to write to you and say that your effort mattered,” Griner wrote on Instagram. “Your letters helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I never lost hope.”The Gold Medalist had been detained in the country for almost 10 months until she was returned in a prisoner exchange earlier this year.
To release Griner, who had been detained after an arrest over small amounts of cannabis oil at a Moscow-area airport were discovered in her luggage, was swapped for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Her detention and later conviction on drug charges were condemned by the White House.
