‘I'm terrified’: Basketball player detained in Russia, asks Joe Biden for help

WNBA star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia since February after being accused of carrying electronic cigarettes containing hashish oil, wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday asking for his help in getting out of prison and returning home.

"I am terrified that I may be here forever," Griner wrote in one of the excerpts from that letter provided to ESPN by her representatives. "I know you are dealing with a lot, but please don't forget about me and the other detainees. Please do everything you can to bring us home," the basketball player added.

The sending of this letter coincided with Independence Day in the United States. "It pains me to think how I normally celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year," she added.

Griner, who said she voted for Biden in the 2020 election, noted that she continues to believe in the president and what he can do for her situation.

"I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know that they are hurting so much right now. I feel grateful for anything I can do right now to bring me home," she said.

Griner was arrested for drug smuggling, for which she could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Last Friday, she appeared in a Russian court after more than four months of pre-trial detention.

Under the campaign #WeAreBG, both the WNBA and the NBA have turned out in recent weeks to demand Brittney Griner's release and return to the United States.