Basketball star Brittney Greiner said she was considered suicide during her first few weeks in Russian custody after being detained in Russia on drug charges in 2022, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA.
She spoke for the first time about her months in Russian detention in an hour-long interview that aired last night on US broadcaster ABC. Greiner is back in the spotlight for her memoir, Homecoming. (Coming Home), which will be released on the book market on May 7.
Greiner was detained upon arrival at Moscow airport after Russian authorities say a search of her luggage turned up e-cigarette liquid believed to contain cannabis oil, a substance banned in Russia.
"I wanted to end my life several times in the first weeks," Greiner told her interviewer, journalist Robin Roberts. " I so wanted to get out of there,' she added. The athlete adds that she decided not to kill herself partly because she was afraid that the Russian authorities would not hand over her body to her family.
This period coincided with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which raised tensions between Moscow and the United States. Greiner was released a few months later in a prisoner exchange. She was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, held in an American prison.
Greiner said that before she was released, she was forced to write a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "They forced me to write this letter. It was in Russian," she said. "I should have asked for forgiveness and thanked their so-called great leader. "I didn't want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to go home," Greiner added.
She was disappointed when Paul Whelan, another American serving a sentence in Russia, was not with her when she boarded the plane for the exchange. "I walked on and didn't see him, maybe he will be next. Maybe they'll bring it back next time,' she said. "They closed the door and I said, “Really? You're not going to let that guy come home now,'' Greiner said.
The basketball player plays for the Phoenix Mercury team. The NBA Women's League season begins on May 14.