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NBA star Dennis Rodman says he plans to travel to Russia to support the release of Britney Greener after the American basketball player was sentenced to nine years in prison for possession of cannabis.
“I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” Rodman, 61, told NBC News in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
“I’m trying to go this week.”
The basketball Hall of Famer says he knows Russian President Vladimir Putin “very well.”
It was not immediately clear what “permit” Rodman received, but an authorized visa is required to enter Russia.
The US State Department currently has a travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to the country.
The warning lists several reasons to “don’t travel to Russia” – the invasion of Ukraine, the “potential harassment of US citizens” and the “segregation of US citizens in Russia, including those detained by Russian government security officials”.
Rodman, who once called Putin “cool” in a 2014 interview, is no stranger to engaging himself in informal diplomacy with world leaders.
The former Chicago Bulls star has developed an unlikely friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and has visited the country several times.
He took credit for helping to free American Kenneth Bae, who had previously been imprisoned for more than two and a half years in North Korea in 2014 for undisclosed actions.
TMZ reported at the time that Rodman had written a letter to Kim Jong Un asking for Bay’s release.
The attempt to get involved in Griner’s ordeal comes after the WNBA star’s attorneys said last week they would appeal the prison sentence.
Griner, an eight-time All-Star center with the Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist, pleaded guilty Aug. 4 to charges that police found vape cans containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
The American woman said she kept the cans in her purse, but told the court she used them by mistake and had no criminal intent.
The US State Department said Greiner had been “wrongfully detained” – a claim spokesman Ned Price doubled down on last week.
“Nothing in this trial changes our judgment that Brittany Griner is wrongfully imprisoned and should be released immediately,” Price said.
“That is why we put forward Paul Whelan’s release as a serious, important proposition several weeks ago and sought her release. Serving 16 years in prison for espionage in Russia.
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