State Dept demands that Russia give access to WNBA player

[iemanja]

Brittney Griner. News is just breaking. I will post more when it becomes available.

A related article

Despite closely following the case and maintaining frequent contact with Brittney Griner's legal team, the U.S. State Department has been frustrated by its lack of consular access, a spokesperson for the State Department told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

Griner will remain in pre-trial detention until May 19, Russian state media reported earlier Thursday. The State Department insisted that consular access be provided for all Americans currently detained in Russia.

"We have repeatedly asked for consular access to these detainees and have consistently been denied access. Russia must abide by its legal obligations and allow us to provide consular services for U.S. citizens detained in Russia," the spokesperson said. "We take our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens seriously, and we will continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for all U.S. citizens when they are subject to legal processes overseas."

In Thursday's hearing, Griner's Russian legal team hoped to have her transferred to house arrest. The May hearing is to determine how much time is required to finish the pre-trial investigation, but once that concludes, a trial date will be set.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/us-state-department-says-its-involved-with-brittney-griner-case-denied-consular-access/ar-AAVditY?ocid=BingNewsSearch

[iemanja]

1. Article from Yahoo (headline above)

State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on Russia to provide consular access to WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner in an interview with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis on Thursday.

In the weeks since her detention, U.S. officials from the embassy in Moscow have been unable to meet with her and "evaluate the conditions, her conditions, the conditions in which she is being detained and to provide all forms of support," Price said.

"The Russians are obligated to permit, to allow this type of consular access," Price added. "We're going to continue to insist that they allow us access to Brittney Griner just as we be permitted to access all Americans who are detained in Russia. ...
The State Department has been "in constant contact" with Griner's legal team and the WNBA, Price said.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/russia-ukraine-live-updates-putin-164838761.html

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