Brittney Griner was not the only person to be released on December 8 by Russia. Another woman named Sarah Krivanek was also released on the same date. While the release of Griner was national news and grabbed headlines everywhere, the release of Krivanek was barely covered. Furthermore, while Griner received a lot of help from the U.S. government, Krivanek claimed she did not get much help. Recently, she has opened up about her time in Russian captivity and about the U.S. government.

Krivanek moved to Russia five years ago to teach English. She was allegedly arrested while trying to defend herself from her ex-boyfriend and spent around a year in a Russian prison. While Griner was classified as “wrongfully detained,” Krivanek was not.

Sarah Krivanek opens up

During a recent interview with ABC News, Sarah Krivanek talked about a variety of things including the lack of support from the U.S. government. She said that she felt like her patriotism and citizenship did not even matter to others.

An emotional Krivanek said, “My patriotism and my citizenship to my country meant absolutely nothing. They might as well just left me there. They completely throw off the fact that another human being, that another American citizen is also going through, you know, sufferings, with no support.”

She noted that she is angry at the U.S. government for the lack of support she received during her time in the penal colony. She said, “I’m angry at the U.S. government.”?When the host asked for the reason for her anger, Krivanek replied, “For leaving me behind to rot. They said, ‘We are working on your case very diligently. Somebody’s going to come out to see you in the colony.’ Nobody ever came.”

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On the contrary, ever since the arrest of Brittney Griner in February, the U.S. government has been in continuous engagement with Russia for her release.

Questions about the release of Brittney Griner

The difference in the efforts to bring back two American citizens has raised a lot of questions from people around the country. Furthermore, Sarah Krivanek did not fly back to the country with Brittney Griner. She revealed she was put on a commercial flight and was asked to sign paperwork acknowledging she would repay the travel expenses once she was home.

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After the detainment of Griner, there were huge outcries to bring her back from a lot of fans and celebrities. After months of negotiation between the two countries, she was released. While some celebrated her release, there was backlash about the release of Viktor Bout. Also, there were questions about leaving Paul Whelan behind.