In recent days, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to imprison journalists who dare to report truthfully about Russia’s merciless invasion of Ukraine. His police also have arrested scores of anti-invasion protesters across Russia. Nor is it a secret that for years Putin has imprisoned hundreds of political dissidents with remarkable impunity.
Now the latest target and pawn in Putin’s mayhem seems to be Brittney Griner, the former Baylor University basketball star and WNBA player from Houston.
As she was leaving Russia last month, Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport and charged with transporting vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage, a drug offense that could draw a 10-year prison sentence. While little else about the incident is known publicly, including when exactly it occurred, this smacks of Putin returning to a familiar playbook of trumped up arrests and detentions to seek concessions and political leverage.
