(CNN)When Jonathan Franks first heard that American basketball star Brittney Griner had been arrested in Russia, he was initially incredulous.
But it wasn’t some sort of incredulity that she was arrested for possessing some cannabis oil at an airport near Moscow, but rather that Western media would be relaying the details of her alleged crime as if it were fact.
“This is being reported as if people take these allegations seriously,” he told CNN. “I think it is a huge mistake to report these allegations as if they are true or even likely to be true.”
Franks was immediately suspicious because he has worked on behalf of numerous American citizens who have unexpectedly found themselves in similar situations with hostile governments. He is currently campaign spokesman for Trevor Reed, who has been imprisoned in Russia since August 2019.
Based on the limited information provided by the Russian Federal Customs Service and state media, Franks is deeply concerned about the predicament Griner now finds himself in.
“This has many hallmarks of a very unlawful and arbitrary detention,” he said. “I found the video from Russian Customs strange. They perform them in front of cameras. The mug shot was completely unnecessary and stupid.”
Russian Customs Service alleges that Griner “smuggled significant amounts of narcotics” and says a criminal case is pending. A possible 10-year prison sentence was mentioned.
“They make her sound like a drug lord. I think Ms. Griner is unlikely to get a fair trial,” concludes Franks, “because nobody gets a fair trial in Russia. It’s a rigged game.”
In 2014, the American-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian was arrested in Tehran. He couldn’t have known at the time, but he faced a lengthy stint in Iran’s notorious Evin prison: 544 days.
The Washington Post reporter was eventually released in January 2016 and sees many parallels in Griner’s case to his own. “It’s the boldest state hostage situation imaginable,” Rezaian told CNN.
“I know from my own case that the alleged charges against me were not based on reality and served to perpetuate a narrative as to why I was being held.”
Like Franks, Rezaian warns against repeating the allegations against Griner verbatim.
“I think every time reporters repeat this narrative, we’re doing some of the kidnappers’ dirty work for them. My stance is that Brittney Griner is innocent of any crime until the world sees otherwise,” added Rezaian.
It’s still not clear exactly when Griner was arrested in Russia, but it was some time in February when she returned from the States to compete for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia’s basketball league.
This is Griner’s seventh season in Russia, where she plays in the off-season in North America. News of their predicament only reached the US on March 5, when Russia revealed they were holding them.
It was only then that Griner’s wife, Cherelle, began posting about it on Instagram. “There are no words to express this pain,” she said. “It hurts me, it hurts us.”
If she can indeed be classified as a “hostage,” Griner will join an unenviable club of about 50 American citizens who are currently being held hostage or wrongly held abroad.
Activists have been working to free Americans Reed and Paul Whelan, both in Russia.
While acknowledging that Griner’s family was under tremendous emotional stress, Rezaian believes they should have spoken sooner.
“They made the same mistake I see people make again and again and allowed the potential hostage taker to take control of the narrative,” says Rezaian.
“Unfortunately, we see people saying to themselves, ‘This is all just a big mistake that will be over in a few days.’ Squeezing her detention doesn’t do her any favors, these things don’t magically resolve.”
The timing of Griner’s arrest couldn’t be worse, she was arrested in the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and only released after the US began imposing sanctions on the Russian government.
“You can’t separate these things,” Rezaian explained. “Trying to maintain diplomatic niceties in these situations may be in the interest of U.S. national security, but it’s certainly not in the interest of Brittney Griner.”
Rezaian urges Griner’s family to speak out and encourages their American employers to make noise.
Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a seven-time All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury and a legend in the women’s professional league, the WNBA. While brief statements have been made by her team and the league, Rezaian says they could and should do so much more.
“The WNBA, a part of the NBA, one of the largest and most powerful sports leagues in the world, has a real responsibility to that person,” he says. “There should be a robust answer.”
In the information vacuum surrounding Griner’s situation, some have tried to fill the airwaves with comments about her involvement in Russian basketball and the wisdom of her decision to travel there at a time when geopolitical tensions in the region were a powder keg.
It’s a feeling that smacks of victim blame. “It’s irrelevant,” says Rezaian. “That’s not a credible argument.”
Franks is equally dismissive. “Should have, should have, should have. It’s Monday morning quarterbacking, and it’s not helping,” he says. “They welcomed her to this country to work. To me, that’s pretty bold.”
Both men say Griner had every right to continue working as a professional athlete in Russia, and the fact that a country where she was known and celebrated has now jailed her only makes the allegations against her all the more suspicious.
Rezaian recalls the countless trips in and out of Iran over a five-year period. “Up until then I had never had any problems,” he says. “Is that my fault? No, absolutely not.”
It’s hard to predict what the coming weeks and months will bring in Griner’s case, but Rezaian draws on his own experience to suggest that Griner may need to prepare for a long stay in Russia.
“It may turn out to be a marathon, not a sprint. You’re hoping for a sprint, but conserve your energy to benefit during this ordeal,” he says.
In a podcast titled 544 Days, which he released in October 2021, Rezaian describes the fear, insecurity and monotony of his detention in Iran. He says he made the audio series in part to give a roadmap to the families of other citizens who may one day find themselves in a similar situation.
“I tried to find something to laugh about every day because there’s definitely a lot of absurdity in those situations,” he adds.
“That doesn’t lessen the horror and horror, but the absurdity of a great American athlete being held on the other side of the world on baseless charges at the dawn of a catastrophic war? It’s horrifying, but it’s also a farce in its own way.”
Franks knows from his time as Reed’s attorney that Griner could be locked up for a while.
He urges those who care about her to keep her case in the public eye.
“Sports fans can play a big role because I don’t think they’re a constituency [American] government is hearing from,” says Franks.
“You want to see Brittney Griner come home? Or Trevor Reed, or Paul Whelan, or one of the other 50 hostages? I would suggest calling the White House any day and telling them that you want President Biden to prioritize the repatriation of wrongly imprisoned American citizens. “
Franks reiterates that Griner’s family should do the same. “It’s a difficult decision to make about whether or not to speak, but let a light shine,” he says. “If it were my loved one, my response would be to shine a light. every time
“People who are wrongfully imprisoned are strangely sensitive to bad headlines.”
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