Biden’s new executive order is meant to make it easier for officials to negotiate the return of American citizens who have been wrongfully detained, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. It comes as Biden remains under pressure to ensure Griner’s release as many, including the president himself, have expressed outrage at her detainment in a Russian prison.
The order will allow U.S. government agencies to impose sanctions on those countries that have wrongfully detained Americans, potentially paving the way to escalate sanctions already imposed on Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
It also directs agencies to share relevant information and intelligence with families of detainees and charges experts to develop strategies to prevent future wrongful detentions, the Biden administration said in a statement.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is being held in Russia on drug charges after being arrested in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on February 17 for allegedly carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in Russia, in her luggage. She pleaded guilty earlier this month, and she faces up to 10 years in prison.
Her detainment has sparked an international outcry as supporters demand for Russia to release her, and United States officials have raised concerns that Moscow is using Griner and other detained Americans as bargaining chips as tensions remain sour between the two countries amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The White House touted the order as creating “new ways to impose costs on terrorist organizations, criminal groups, and other malicious actors who take hostages for financial, political, or other gains and thus threaten the integrity of the international political system and the safety of U.S. nationals and other persons abroad.”
In a statement announcing the order, the White House acknowledged that the order comes as a response to campaigns by friends and family to bring Griner and other Americans detained overseas home.
“This [executive order] is informed by our regular communications with the families and other stakeholders who have undertaken incredible advocacy efforts on behalf of their loved ones,” the White House statement said. “The Biden-Harris Administration appreciates the continued diligence of such families and considers them essential partners in our efforts to bring Americans home.”
Griner wrote a letter to Biden on July 4, expressing her fears that she may never get to return home and pleading for him to not “forget about me and all the other detainees.”
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote.
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, offered some criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of Griner’s case during a July 5 appearance on CBS News, saying it was “disheartening” she had not heard from Biden nearly five months after Griner’s detainment. The next day, Cherelle Griner said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called her and that she felt “hopeful” after the president read her wife’s letter in an Instagram statement.
Russia has defended holding Griner. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told NBC News last month that Griner should not be described as a “hostage” because she violated Russian law."
