After eight months in Russian detainment, WNBA star Brittney Griner is celebrating her 32nd birthday in jail after being sentenced to nine years on drug charges.
On Tuesday (October 18), Griner shared a message thanking her supporters as she turned 32 years old, per her lawyer Maria Blagovolina.
“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home," Griner said in her message. "All the support and love are definitely helping me."
Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, a second attorney for Griner, said in a statement that they spent time with Griner on Tuesday and relayed a number of birthday wishes to her.
The WNBA star was detained in February after Russian authorities found cannabis oil in her possession at a Moscow airport. Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges, admitting that she had "inadvertently" packed the cannabis in her luggage.
Griner's legal team is set to appeal her nine-year prison sentence next week to the Moscow region court.
As she appeals her sentence, the Biden administration is reportedly still working on a deal with Russia to secure her release.
The U.S. government announced in July that it had made a “substantial proposal” to bring Griner and Paul Whelan, a former US marine who has also been classified as "wrongfully detained," back home.
However, since the public announcement, there has been little information on the moves being made to release the pair.
The WNBA expressed continued support for Griner, tweeting about her birthday on Tuesday.
"Happy Birthday Brittney Griner, we will not forget about you and we will not stop fighting for you. The W won’t be the same until you’re home," the tweet reads.
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