Brittney Griner will release a memoir detailing her ‘harrowing experience’ being detained in Russian prison.
The basketball star was released in December from Russian custody after being behind bars for 10 months.
Russian customs detained the 32-year-old in February after discovering cannabis oil in her luggage, and she faced smuggling charges.
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Despite only being caught with less than a gram of hash oil, she was locked up in one of the country's most notorious prisons - IK-2 in Mordovia, an isolated colony in Moscow.
There are many reports that the Russian prison has some of the most brutal conditions as inmates are sleep and food-deprived and forced to carry out grueling labor with a growing rat infestation inside the facility.
While Grinner was potentially looking at nine years in prison, she was released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout last year.
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And now she’s ready to tell her story in full.
The Phoenix Mercury player announced she would release a memoir about the 2022 arrest.
"I arrived in Moscow to rejoin the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball team and was immediately detained at the airport," she shared in an Instagram post.
"That day was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share.
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“The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud.
"After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home.
"Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”
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She added that by writing the book, she would like to raise awareness for those who have also been wrongfully detained, including Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Emad Shargi, Airan Berry and Shahab Dalili.
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf said in a statement that the memoir currently has no title but is said to be released in the spring of 2024.
"Griner discloses in vivid detail her harrowing experience of her wrongful detainment (as classified by the State Department) and the difficulty of navigating the byzantine Russian legal system in a language she did not speak," the press release read.
It added: “At the heart of the book, Griner highlights the personal turmoil she experienced during the near 10-month ordeal and the resilience that carried her through to the day of her return to the United States last December."
Topics: News, Celebrity, Crime, World News, Sport, Basketball
Charisa Bossinakis