American social media users again called for Ovechkin to be taken into custody because of Graine

Users of social networks from the United States called on the country’s authorities to arrest the striker of the Washington Capitals NHL club Alexander Ovechkin due to the fact that American basketball player Brittney Griner received a prison sentence in Russia.

“Exchanging Greiner is stupid while Ovechkin is just walking along the street,” says Return of the Mack, whose commentary was published by the Latvian edition of Biznes & Baltiya.

“Jail time for Greiner? It’s simple: arrest Ovechkin, – said journalist Keith Olbermann.

In early August, Greiner was sentenced by the Khimki city court to 9 years in a penal colony and fined 1 million rubles in a drug smuggling case. The 31-year-old basketball player was detained in February while trying to smuggle hash oil through Sheremetyevo Airport. Greiner’s defense appealed against the court’s verdict.

Prior to the sentencing, there were also calls in the United States to arrest Ovechkin because of Greiner’s detention.

At the end of July, it was reported that the United States and Russia were considering the possibility of exchanging an American woman and a U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia for espionage, for Viktor Bout, who is serving a term in an American prison for arms trafficking.

Greiner is a 2014 WNBA champion with the Mercury, a two-time Olympic champion, and a two-time world champion. In Russia, the athlete played for UMMC Yekaterinburg.