Brittney Griner Felt ‘Less Than Human’ While Imprisoned

A year and a half since returning to the United States, Brittney Griner is speaking about the harrowing ten months she spent in Russian detention. Ahead of the release of her memoir, Coming Home, Griner sat down with Robin Roberts for an emotional 20/20 special that will air next week.

In a preview of the interview, Griner describes the moment in February 2022 when Russian authorities asked her to go through her bags and she felt a vape cartridge in her luggage. “My life is over right here,” she recalls thinking at the time. She was detained immediately, and Russian prosecutors accused her of trying to smuggle less than one gram of cannabis oil, a crime carrying up to a ten-year prison sentence. Six months later, Griner was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony.

Speaking with Roberts through tears, Griner says that at the Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Mordovia — one of the harshest in Russia — she experienced suicidal ideation and was “so scared about everything” because “there was so much unknown.” She detailed the conditions of the colony, saying, “The mattress had a huge blood stain on it. I had no soap, no toilet paper. That was the moment where I just felt less than a human.” At one point, she says, she saw a “huge” knife on a table and thought, “Now this is going to be a ride. You got to do what you got to do to survive.”

In December 2022, the U.S. released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner’s freedom. Since arriving home, she has returned to the WNBA and become outspoken about others who remain in detention abroad, including former marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

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