Brittney Griner asks supporters to advocate for Paul Whelan
The Associated Press
Brittney Griner has asked her supporters in a social media post to advocate for Paul Whelan. Whelan is a former Marine serving a 16-year prison term in Russia for espionage charges the United States are baseless. Griner is a WNBA star who was detained in Russia in February and released in December in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The U.S. had sought to exchange Bout for both Whelan and Griner, but Russia would only agree to swap Griner. In a handwritten letter posted to Instagram, Griner urged her supporters to advocate for Whelan and send letters to him.