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A hostage expert explained the challenges inmates like WNBA star Brittney Griner may face while behind bars abroad.
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Hostage US’s Amy Manson told Newsy that foreign inmates often have poor nutrition and see dramatic weight loss.
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Griner, who has been detained in Russia for months, pleaded guilty to drug smuggling in July.
A hostage situation expert underlined the extreme trauma and challenges that inmates like WNBA superstars Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan may face when held behind bars for extended periods in a foreign country.
“They face the reality of poor nutrition, sometimes no access to fresh air or real daylight,” Amy Manson of Hostage US, an organization that provides various tools and resources to American hostages and their families, told Newsy.
Manson added, “Some of our returnees face a loss of 50 to 60 to 70 pounds. And we’re talking muscle wasting, as well as the impact on their bodies of constant poor nutrition and constant stress,” the report said.
According to ESPN, President Joe Biden and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, at the White House on Friday.
“I want to thank President Biden for today’s meeting. It was an honor to speak with him directly about the Brittney we know and love, and to thank him for the government’s efforts to secure her release Cherelle said in a response. statement, per ESPN’s TJ Quinn. “I’ve felt every minute of the grueling seven months without her. I look forward to the day my wife is back home.”
Griner, who has been detained in Russia for months, pleaded guilty in July to drug smuggling, a move legal experts say will help her return to the states.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was sentenced to 9 years in prison last month. The White House previously proposed to trade arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan, an ex-Marine detained in Russia.
Griner’s family and colleagues have continued to advocate for the release of the Pheonix Mercury star. During the interview with Newsy, Manson said that when inmates like Griner and Whelan see their names in the headlines, “it’s incredibly uplifting.”
“Someone told me it was the best medicine he could have gotten during his captivity — when he learned something was up related to his captivity,” Manson told the outlet.
Read the original article on Insider
