Brittney Griner – Vladimir Putin’s Advisor Says Freeing Imprisoned WNBA Star Is ‘Not The Main Issue’ Russia Is ‘Concerned About’ At The Moment 

“However, it’s not the main issue that we are concerned about.”

As previously reported, the 31-year-old WNBA star, who turns 32 on Oct. 18, was arrested by Russian authorities back in February of this year on drug smuggling charges. She was subsequently sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Ushakov’s comments come days after Brittney Griner’s lawyer, Alexandr D. Boykov, revealed the WNBA star is “struggling” in prison and she is skeptical she will be released and allowed to return home. To date, she has been detained overseas for 8 months.

Boykov says his client is currently in a “nightmare” pre-trial detention center named Correctional Colony No.1 and is serving her time in brutal conditions. Reports state the penal colony, located 1hr outside of Moscow, forces inmates to remain in their “tiny” cells 23 hrs out of the day, only allowing 1 hr outside for a walk around the courtyard.

Additionally, Boykov says that the detention center only allows showers twice per week. As far as Griner’s mental health, her lawyer says he’s previously found her in “better conditions,” despite having two English-speaking bunkmates. He reportedly stated:

“She has not been in as good condition as I could sometimes find her in.”

It seems that Griner has a bleak outlook on a potential inmate swap at the moment. While President Joe Biden previously discussed a potential deal to exchange for Griner for a couple of Russian citizens, there has seemingly been no progress in the efforts. The report states that Boykov claims his client is skeptical that the swap will happen, stating:

“She is not yet absolutely convinced that America will be able to take her home….She is very worried about what the price of that will be, and she is afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia.”

Brittney Griner has an appeal hearing scheduled for the 25th of this month.