Moscow may start to ‘detain Americans’, State Department warns

Russia might start to single out and detain United States citizens in the country, the State Department warned on Tuesday. The federal body also urged Americans to refrain from traveling to Russia. 

The travel advisory, released by the United States State Department, was meant to highlight the potential harassment of American citizens in Russia, according to reports from AFP. It was also connected to the “unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.” 

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Americans planning to travel to Russia were urged to call off their plans and those who were already there were advised to leave “immediately.”

Are any United States citizens already detained in Russia?

Brittney Griner, two time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s NBA star, has been under Moscow’s detention for more than a month. She was taken into custody for allegedly carrying vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage, according to reports from AFP. An American diplomat was recently permitted to visit Griner at the detention center.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN the official found Griner “to be in good condition.” Price did not identify the official who had been granted consular access to Griner, something the United States had been demanding, according to reports from Associated Press.

Marine veteran Trevor Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 on charges alleging that he assaulted police officers in Moscow.

Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that his family and the US government have said are false. US officials have publicly called for Moscow to release them.

Of the thousands of American citizens arrested and jailed in prisons abroad, a small subset are designated by the US government as wrongfully detained — a category that affords their cases an extra level of government attention.