Here’s what we know so far about their detentions. Reed, 30, and Whelan, 52, were arrested and convicted separately for alleged crimes they’ve emphatically denied well before the Russian incursion of Ukraine, and the pair remain in prison serving extended sentences denounced by US officials as unfair. A Moscow court has extended her arrest until May 19, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russian authorities said Griner, 31, had cannabis oil in her luggage while in a Moscow airport last month and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance – an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. And amid the growing economic repercussions, families and supporters of Griner and other detained Americans, like Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, are working to free their loved ones as diplomatic channels fade. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought forth global condemnation from governments and peoples alike, who have since boycotted Russian goods, frozen Russian access to banking systems and enacted crippling sanctions. Brittney Griner, the star basketball player detained in Russia over alleged drug charges, has become the latest of several Americans who have yet to secure their freedom from a country increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.
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