“You took the time to show me that you cared and I personally want to take the time to write to you and say that your effort meant something. Your letters helped me not lose hope during a time of regret and vulnerability in ways I could never have imagined,” Griner writes on Instagram.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because of you, I never lost hope.”
“I hope you, like me, will write to Paul Whelan and continue to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families,” Griner writes, including an address where letters can be sent to reach Whelan.
When Griner was released, the USA’s hope was that Whelan would also be included in the exchange. But Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and two years later was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for espionage, remains in custody.
The 32-year-old American basketball star – considered by many to be one of the world’s best on the women’s side – was imprisoned for ten months in Russia. This since the two-time Olympic champion just before the outbreak of war got stuck at an airport check in Russia with cannabis oil in her luggage. She was sentenced in August to nine years in prison, but after lengthy negotiations between the United States and Russia, Griner was released on December 8 in a prisoner exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor But.