Yahoo Sports U.S. classifies Brittney Griner as 'wrongfully detained' in Russia
The U.S. has now classified WNBA star Brittney Griner as "wrongfully detained" by the Russian government, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Tuesday.
The formal change in designation is a significant development because it opens a new path to secure Griner's freedom. Instead of waiting for her drug smuggling case to play out in the Russian legal system, the U.S. government will now actively seek to negotiate her return.
"Our expectation is that the White House do whatever is necessary to bring her home," Griner's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said in a statement.
Roger Carstens, the U.S. government's top hostage negotiator, will lead an inter-agency team in charge of securing Griner's release, the State Department spokesperson told Yahoo Sports. Carstens, a U.S. diplomat and retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, was part of the team that last week negotiated a hostage exchange that resulted in the return of Trevor Reed, a former Marine detained in Russia for the past two years.
https://sports.yahoo.com/us-classifies-brittney-griner-as-wrongfully-detained-in-russia-142638603.html
Better late than never.