The State Department now considers WNBA star Brittney Griner to be "wrongfully detained" in Russia.

Given the new designation, her case is now being handled by the office of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, who leads the government's diplomatic efforts focusing on getting Americans wrongfully detained abroad released.

"The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is among the highest priorities of the U.S. Government," a State Department official told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. "The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner."

The official did not respond to follow-up questions about the significance of the new designation.

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Griner was arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport while entering the country and was accused of illegally bringing vape cartridges containing hashish oil. She plays professional basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason. The basketball star has not been charged, but she is scheduled to have a hearing on May 19.

A U.S. consular official last visited Griner on March 23, the State Department told the Washington Examiner last week.

"Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expectation is that the White House do whatever is necessary to bring her home," Griner's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said in a statement to ESPN.

The dozens of Americans who are being wrongfully detained across the globe have received renewed attention recently as the Biden administration got Trevor Reed, who had been held in Russia for nearly three years, home last week. The United States agreed to swap Reed's freedom in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Connecticut for conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

Reed came home in the trade, but the U.S. was unable to bring Griner or Paul Whelan, the other American known to be wrongfully detained by Russia, home. Whelan's family expressed support for the Reeds amid Trevor's arrival, though David Whelan, Paul's brother, expressed concern for his brother's future now that the U.S. has one fewer bargaining chip.

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