Canadian pop icon Justin Bieber seems to be among those enraged by the judgment of WNBA star Brittney Griner, and wants to bring her back to US soil from Russian prison.
If anyone knows of anyway I can help please let me know: Justin Bieber stands in solidary with Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner, the American basketball star, was sentenced to nine years in prison last Thursday after being found guilty of a drug offense. The news has taken the country by storm, as even the White House is making several arrangements to bring the player home.
As it turns out, Justin Bieber has also stepped up and has offered to be a helping hand. Yesterday, the 28-year-old singer took to his Instagram Story after the news of the verdict broke out and reacted by asking what he can do for helping Griner to bring back home.
“THIS HURTS” Bieber wrote on his Instagram story, along with a screenshot of ESPN’s piece on the sentence, “If anyone knows of anyway I can help please let me know.”
Pop singer Justin Bieber wants to lend a helping hand in getting Brittney Griner home 🙏
(📸: justinbieber/IG) pic.twitter.com/TwzIq7UBig
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 4, 2022
Aside from Bieber, several other celebs have also voiced their support for Griner. Actress Mia Farrow termed the ruling as “heartbreaking,” and accused the Russian judge of ignoring all of her statements.
“On the same day we got justice for Breonna (Taylor)… I find out that Brittney Griner just got nine years in Russia,” wrote Jada Pinkett Smith.
A longtime player for Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg, Griner was apprehended back in February at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow after vape cartridges containing hashish oil were detected in her belongings.
“She was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle hash oil. In Russia, this is a crime. In accordance with paragraph “c” of part 2 of Article 229.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (drug smuggling), she faces a prison term of up to 10 years,” a statement issued to CNN read.
Griner was charged with smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors, or analogues, and with illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, and processing of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, or their analogs. She pled guilty to all charges during the second hearing of her trial on July 7 but claimed that she unintentionally brought cannabis into the country.
Recently, griner penned a letter to Biden asking for her release. “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home,” the player said in her letter to POTUS.
The 31-year-old basketball player has been in WNBA since 2013, joining the Phoenix Mercury as a No. 1 overall draft pick. She has been selected to the All-Star team eight times, the All-WNBA team six times, won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice and led the Mercury to a championship in 2014 in her career.
“Once designated as wrongfully detained, it moves to the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs where they can discuss prisoner exchange, I’ve talked with that group several times… but we need to get a deal done,” Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner said last month.
