Griner will be detained till at least July 2
MOSCOW — WNBA star Brittney Griner will remain in Russian custody through at least July 2, Russian state-run news agency Tass reported Tuesday.
Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, has been held in Russia since February, when she was detained at an airport in Moscow after officials there claimed she was carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. The U.S. Department of State last month reclassified her as wrongfully detained.
The Khimki district court of the Moscow region extended Griner’s detention for a third time, according to the Tass report, which also cited a top Russian diplomat as saying that Moscow will not consider including Griner in a detainee swap ‘‘until a court investigation into her case is completed.’’
Tass said deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was responding to U.S. media reports that the Biden administration had offered to exchange convicted arms trader Viktor Bout for Griner. Ryabkov gave no timeline for the proceedings in Griner’s case.
Griner’s supporters continue to advocate for her release, with some raising concerns that Moscow might use her as a bargaining chip amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was accused of ‘‘smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance,’’ an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison in Russia.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Tuesday that it was his understanding that department officials learned of the extension in Griner’s detention only through Tass, which he said was problematic.
‘‘This case is problematic from top to bottom,’’ he said. ‘‘It is precisely why we have characterized Brittney Griner as an unlawful detainee. It’s precisely why we are doing everything we can to seek and to effect her prompt release from Russian detention.’’