Yahoo News State Department Officials Are 'Very Concerned' About American Woman Jailed in Russia, Her Friend Says
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A friend of Sarah Krivanek, an American woman who's been jailed in Russia for months, says she was told by a U.S. official that the State Department is "very concerned" and "doing everything they can to ensure her well-being."
Anita Martinez was on the phone with Krivanek when she was detained at a Moscow airport on Dec. 15 after attempting to fly out of Russia while her domestic dispute case was still pending.
Krivanek carried with her at the airport a letter that showed she received a $200 repatriation loan from the U.S. government to cover expenses on her journey to the States. She also reportedly secured a diplomatic escort to the airport.
A U.S. State Department official confirmed the December arrest of an American citizen in Moscow and told PEOPLE in early August, "We take our role in assisting U.S. citizens abroad seriously and are monitoring the situation."
Martinez, who wrote to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and to President Joe Biden to beg for help on behalf of Krivanek, tells PEOPLE an official from the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs recently reached out to her by phone.
According to Martinez, the official said the U.S. is "very aware of Sarah's case and they too are very concerned."
"Now that they know where she's at they are making arrangements to send someone out to visit her and [they told me] that they are going to do everything they can to ensure her well-being," Martinez said. "Due to privacy issues, they couldn't give me much more info than that. They just wanted to reassure me that they are working on her case."
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RELATED: Sarah Krivanek Was 'Desperate' to Leave Russia Before She Was Arrested, Says Family Member
After placing a follow-up call this week, Martinez told PEOPLE, "I asked why it's taken so long for anyone to go see her. She's been there for nine months. He said it's not for lack of trying but the Russian Government hasn't made it easy for them. They are and have been aware and working on Sarah's case."
Responding to a request for comment on Martinez's account of her communications about Krivanek, a State Department official told PEOPLE Thursday they are still monitoring the situation.
"We continue to urge that Russian authorities allow consistent, timely consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia in line with its legal obligations and allow us to provide consular services for U.S. citizens detained in Russia," the official said. "Our requests for access are consistently delayed or denied. We also continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia."
Martinez says she's growing more worried as time goes by without any updates about her friend.
'I'm just afraid that because of what we hear about life in Russian prisons that either she's going to break if she's not already broken, or that she's going to get sick because she's malnutritioned," Martinez says.
RELATED: Inside the Russian Penal Colony Where Brittney Griner Will Serve Her 9-Year Prison Sentence
Pointing to American WNBA star Brittney Griner, who is serving a nine-year sentence in Russia following her trial for drug smuggling, Martinez wonders why there is so little information about Krivanek.
"At least with Brittney they're showing her on TV and we can see that she's in good health," Martinez says. "Her lawyers are telling us how she's doing and what she's saying, whereas with Sarah there's been absolutely nothing."
Sarah Krivanek Facebook
But the cases are different, according to Chris Costa, a 34-year veteran of the Department of Defense and former U.S. Army intelligence officer who is now the executive director of the International Spy Museum.
Unlike Griner, Krivanek does not appear to be considered "wrongfully detained" based on criteria laid out in the Levinson Act, Costa told PEOPLE in a recent interview about Krivanek's case.
He added that the determination on her detention is likely ongoing and could change. He also said that Krivanek's status does not indicate that no one is trying to help her behind the scenes, which the State Department official indicated, according to Martinez's description of the call she received.
"Sarah's family could be optimistic that the United States is really redoubling," Costa said earlier this month, adding later in his interview with PEOPLE: "Just because Sarah is not declared wrongfully detained, meeting the criteria of the Levinson Act, that does not mean that day in and day out, that the Consular Affairs in Russia are not working on her case."
Martinez says she's growing desperate for news about her Krivanek. "At this point I need proof of life," she says she told the State Department official who called her. "I don't know whether she's even alive."
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"It's essential we make contact as soon as possible. I'm afraid something has happened to her or that they've mistreated her and now maybe they're trying to nurse her back to health because they know people are looking for her. I'm just afraid that she's been beaten up or something and they're not telling us," Martinez continued.
"I'm hopeful that we hear something soon and I'm hopeful that she's still alive," she said. "I just want her to be safe. I want her to come home."
