Bipartisan Senate resolution cosponsored by Senator Reverend Warnock urges U.S. government to press for WNBA player’s release, supports all prisoners unjustly imprisoned in the Russian Federation

Senator Reverend Warnock: “We can’t let Ms. Griner and other Americans being detained in Putin’s Russia become the victims of geopolitical events and autocratic war”

ICYMI: “Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock sent a letter to Blinken on Friday seeking answers on several questions regarding Griner’s situation” – MORE HERE from ABC News

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined a group of his colleagues in calling on the Russian government to immediately release U.S. citizen Brittney Griner from her wrongful detention, and urging the U.S. government in all its interactions with the Russian government to press for the WNBA player’s release. In addition to demanding action to end the 5-month-long wrongful detention of Griner, the resolution also expresses support for U.S. citizen Paul Whelan and all prisoners unjustly imprisoned in the Russian Federation. This latest effort follows Senator Warnock’s July 15 letter to State Department Secretary Antony Blinken pressing for more information regarding the Department’s plan to secure Ms. Griner’s release.

“We can’t let Ms. Griner and other Americans being detained in Putin’s Russia become the victims of geopolitical events and autocratic war,” said Senator Warnock after introducing the resolution. “It’s been 154 days since Ms. Griner was detained in Russia, and the strong support for this bipartisan resolution demonstrates that Senators from both parties agree that we need to be doing all we can to bring her home.”

The Senate resolution is a companion to a similar resolution already passed by the House. In addition to Senator Warnock, other co-sponsors of the Senate resolution include: U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ted Cruz (R-TX) Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Robert Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). 

Read the full Senate resolution is HERE.

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