Brittney Griner has made a desperate request to all her fans.
The athlete posted a hand written letter to all 671k followers on her Instagram, thanking them for their support and begging that they also write to Paul Whelan, an American who remains incarcerated in Russia, in hopes that this will bring him home.
She writes:
“Your letters helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I never lost hope,”
“Your letters were also bigger than uplifting me,”
“They showed me the power of collective hands. Together, we can do hard things. I’m living proof of that. My family’s whole and now, thanks to you, we are fortunate to get to spend the holidays together. However, there remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained.”
“I hope you’ll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families,”
The athlete was in prison for 10 months after being convicted of cannabis possession.
Paul Whelan, a former marine, has been in a Russian prison for four years, serving a 16-year sentence on suspicion of spying 2018.
