Irish Examiner view: Victim of cynical political tactics

American basketball player looks like she has been caught in the middle of global political wrangle.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia. More than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession. Picture: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The case of Brittney Griner — the US basketball star imprisoned in Russia on dubious charges of importing cannabis oil — seems to be one more deserving of the attention of the American authorities than most.

As her trial resumes today in Moscow, Griner appears to be the victim of some cynical political tactics by the Russian authorities who, in the wake of the Western reaction to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, have made the case political rather than merely criminal.

Amid realistic fears that she might never see freedom again while being cynically used by the Russians as a political arm-twister, Griner this week wrote to US president Joe Biden pleading with him not to forget her plight.

The US State Department has already labelled her as “wrongfully detained”, but in truth, her best hope for a swift return home appears to be some form of prisoner swap with the Russians.

For Griner’s sake, the hope is that such a swap can be quickly orchestrated. Otherwise, her future is grim.