Biden will receive families of Americans convicted in Russia at the White House
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US President Joe Biden will receive the families of Americans imprisoned in Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, at the White House, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
According to her, Biden will meet with Greiner Scherel’s wife and Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan.
Jean-Pierre said it would be a supportive move to let the families of the convicts know they remain in the spotlight, and that Biden’s team is working every day to get Greiner and Whelan back home.
Griner was sentenced to 9 years in prison for trying to illegally import hash oil into the Russian Federation through Sheremetyevo Airport. As part of the US team, the basketball player won the 2014 World Championship in Turkey, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2018 World Championship in Spain and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Before her arrest, she played for the UMMC team from Yekaterinburg.
Whelan, who has the citizenship of the United States, Canada and Ireland, as well as citizenship of Great Britain, was detained by the Russian FSB in the room of the Metropol Hotel in Moscow during a spy operation on December 28, 2018. The FSB Investigation Department opened a criminal case against him under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Espionage”). The Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty and sentenced him to 16 years in a penal colony.
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