WATCH: 'Gut-Wrenching' - Britney Griner Sister on Baylor Star's Russian Imprisonment
To Brittney Griner's friends and family, the Baylor legend and WNBA superstar isn't a political pawn being used by Russia, which has imprisoned her for allegedly being caught carrying vape cartridges with marijuana oil.
She's a spouse, a daughter, a sister.
"For 100 days I have not seen my Brit," said SheKera Griner, Brittney's sister. "It's been totally gut-wrenching for myself and my family — her mom and dad, my siblings, myself."
Brittney Griner's sister, Shekera, is breaking her silence to call on @POTUS and the US government to bring the #WNBA superstar home #WeAreBG
— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) June 10, 2022
"It's been totally gut-wrenching for myself and my family," she says. pic.twitter.com/Nqpwifb2T0
There are obviously complications here. For instance: Should the United States government play politics in return with a “prisoner” exchange involving the release of the so-called “Merchant of Death”?
It’s was on Feb. 17 when Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport after local police allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. The timing was horrid, as since that time Russia has invaded Ukraine, the U.S. has labeled Griner as “wrongfully detained,” her detention has been officially extended, and …
Russian state media has reported that the asking price for Griner’s return be Viktor Bout.
The “Merchant of Death.''
Bout is an arms trafficker, referred to ominously as the “Merchant of Death, so infamous that he is the subject of the Nicolas Cage film "Lord of War."
Writes Yahoo: “When the Soviet Union teetered and collapsed in 1991, Bout, then in his mid-20s, astutely saw opportunity amidst the chaos. Piles of weapons and ammunition lay discarded in dusty warehouses. Military planes sat abandoned on Soviet runways because there was no money for maintenance or fuel, and no one was flying them.
"Relying on his military connections, Bout acquired several massive cargo planes and began transporting various goods, from fresh-cut flowers to frozen foods. But he made his real money, according to authorities, delivering stockpiles of Soviet arms and ammunition to bad actors around the world. This included the Taliban, as well as various fights in Africa.''
In November 2007, Bout was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in a U.S. prison, where he remains today. Yahoo reports that “Bout has been at the top of the Kremlin’s prisoner exchange wish list. Russia has repeatedly signaled its willingness to do a potential swap for jailed Americans, but so far the U.S. has been unwilling to part with Bout.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson tells Fox News Digital that President Biden has been clear about the importance of bringing U.S. nationals who are detained overseas home. Cherelle Griner, Brittney's spouse, expressed impatience in that regard.
"There is one person that can go get her, and that's our president," Griner told ESPN. "He has that power. You know, I'm just like, 'Why are we not using it? Like, urgently, use it.' We're expecting him to use his power to get it done."
Others argue that the issue is more complex than that.
"Biden administration’s potential decision to exchange this heinous Russian criminal, who is serving jail time in the U.S. for being involved in killing Americans, is a huge mistake," former U.S. intel officer Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital. "This move will only encourage the Russian intelligence services to grab Americans on Russian soil, so they can be exchanged for much more valuable assets for Putin."
Those are matters of politics. SheKera Griner and others have made emotional plea to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the US government at large to, as she put it, "please do whatever necessary to bring our sister home safely and quickly."
To Griner's family, this is not about politics.
"I don't wish this on anyone," SheKera said.
