Brittney Griner’s wife Cherelle calls for Paul Whelan’s release from Russia

Brittney Griner’s wife called for the release of former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity, in a heartfelt social media post thanking people for support while her wife was detained.

“I appreciate each and every one of you! Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home,” Cherelle Griner wrote on Instagram. “All families deserve to be whole!”

Cherelle also thanked dozens of people and groups in the post, including the Biden administration, the WNBA and Rev. Al Sharpton.

The post also thanked Congressmembers Greg Stanton, Colin Allred and Sheila Jackson Lee.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY! I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some— is humanity in its purest form!” Cherelle wrote. “As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, body, and spirits— I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!

Brittney Griner, a WNBA and Olympic basketball star, returned to the US on Friday after being imprisoned in Russia for nearly 10 months following her February arrest for bringing cannabis oil into the country.

She was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, but was released as part of a prisoner exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, had been in US custody. 

The exchange reportedly took months to negotiate, but ultimately drew the ire of some who have expressed disappointment that the swap did not include Whelan, who was arrested in December 2018 on espionage and is imprisoned in a Russian penal colony.

Whelan has denied the charges and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

“Americans deserve to know why Biden traded one of the most dangerous Russian arms dealers for Brittney Griner, while leaving behind military veteran Paul Whelan,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted on Friday. “America should be negotiating from a place of strength, not weakness.”

Critics of the prisoner swap include Donald Trump, who said on Truth Social that Griner “openly hates our country.”

“What a stupid and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!” the former president wrote.

Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, immediately shot back at Trump on Twitter.

“Former President Trump appears to have mentioned my brother [Paul Whelan’s] wrongful detention more in the last 24 hours than he did in the 2 years of his presidency  in which Paul was held hostage by [Russia] (zero),” David Whelan wrote. “I don’t suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero).”

“#PaulWhelan begged then-President Trump to ‘tweet your intentions’ but the Administration was silent,” Whelan tweeted Saturday.  You judge a person by their actions or, in this case, inaction.”