Brittney Griner Undergoing Prisoner Reintegration Program In Texas – Brittney Griner, who was released Thursday from a Russian prison in a controversial and high-profile prisoner swap, is back in the United States and undergoing a freed prisoner reintegration program at an Army medical facility in San Antonio. According to San Antonio station KENS5, the basketball superstar is currently at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where she will receive an “extensive health evaluation” and be examined for anemia, electrolyte imbalances, infections, and any injuries incurred while in Russian custody.
“For someone who’s returned from overseas imprisonment, military hospitals like Brooke Army Medical Center are a place to focus on physical and mental health,” Dr. Ralph Riviello of UT Health San Antonio told the local station. Griner had been playing pro basketball in Moscow but was stopped by authorities in February as she returned through Moscow airport. The authorities discovered that she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil, which is legally prohibited in Russia, a country with strong drug laws. She was then sentenced to nine years in prison and transported to a correctional colony.
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At the correctional colony, 6′ 9″ Garner slept on a small cot, ate bland meals, and endured temperatures so cold that her signature dreadlocks would freeze into icicles after a shower, prompting her to chop them off. Her attorney later stated, “It’s very cold in there and every time she washed her hair, she got cold and would get a chill,” her lawyer later said. Attorney Maria Blagovolina, who represented Griner, added the two-time Olympic gold medalist had recently recovered from a bout with the flu.
Due to the unknown nature of foreign prison environments, such as the risk of contracting diseases uncommon in the United States and being subjected to practices prohibited in this country, such as torture, returning prisoners must be evaluated and coached to facilitate their reintegration into society. When he returned to the United States, former US Marine Trevor Reed, who was released by the Russians in August as part of a different prisoner swap, was brought to the same military base in Texas.
Texas Congressman August Pfluger, who worked to get Reed released — after he has spent two years in prison following an arrest for being drunk — previously told The Post how Reed underwent a US government program for captured, missing or isolated Americans returning from hostile environments called Post-isolation Support Activities – which is likely to also be the case for Griner.
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“The reintegration process includes the recovery of (an American) then subsequently returning them to society, their medical treatment, reintroduction to their families, and provides decompression time while also conserving any intelligence they may have been able to gather to aid in the prosecution of these criminal organizations,” according to the FBI. Griner, a Houston native and Baylor University graduate, landed at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas early Friday morning.
