Brittney Griner has asked her supporters in a social media post to advocate for Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year prison term in Russia for espionage charges the United States are baseless.
The U.S. had sought to secure the release of both Whelan and Griner — the WNBA star detained at a Moscow airport in February for having vape canisters containing cannabis oil — but Russia agreed to swap only Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner returned to the U.S. earlier this month and Bout was sent to Russia.
