NBC News Interview Denied With Brittney Griner

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Published on June 21 2022 6:01 am
Last Updated on June 21 2022 6:02 am

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman denied in an NBC News interview Monday that WNBA star Brittney Griner  is a hostage, saying she’s being prosecuted under law banning the importation of drugs.

Griner, who had been playing basketball in Russia, has been held since mid-February, with customs officials saying vape cartridges with hashish oil were fond in her luggage at a Moscow airport.  

Meanwhile, Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, told AP Monday that Brittney tried to call her 11 times Saturday on their fourth anniversary via the U.S. embassy in Russia, but she never got through because the phone line at the embassy wasn’t staffed.

The couple hasn’t spoken by phone since Griner’s arrest, but the Russian government had approved the call. The State Department said, “we deeply regret that Brittney Griner was unable to speak with her wife because of a logistical error.”