U.S. demands Russia allow access to detained WNBA star Brittney Griner

The United States stepped up its push Friday for consular access to Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who is detained in Russia on allegations of drug smuggling, as a member of a Russian state-backed prison monitoring group said Griner was faring well behind bars.

Ekaterina Kalugina told The Associated Press on Friday that she visited Griner on Monday at the pretrial detention facility outside of Moscow where she's being held and spoke to her with the help of a cellmate who speaks Russian and English and served as an interpreter.

"Her physical condition is fine, she's holding up fine, and I'd even say that she is fairly calm and isn't anxious," Kalugina said of the Phoenix Mercury star, whose legal ordeal comes amid tension between Russia and the U.S. over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Griner's lawyers have been visiting her regularly and have brought her care packages that include food and personal items, but she hadn't met with a U.S. consul yet, Kalugina said.

The State Department issued a statement Friday demanding access to Griner, who plays professionally in Russia during the WNBA off-season.

"We are closely engaged on this case and in frequent contact with Brittney Griner's legal team. We insist the Russian government provide consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia, including those in pre-trial detention, as Brittney Griner is," it said.

"We have repeatedly asked for consular access to these detainees and have consistently been denied access," it added.

Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport, reportedly in mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty