U.S. congressman Colin Allred tells TMZ Sports Brittney Griner is "OK" in Russia ... though he added he can't say much more, hoping relative silence keeps the WNBA star from becoming a political pawn.
Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February ... after she allegedly tried to go through airport security with hash oil in her suitcase.
Details surrounding her detainment have been fuzzy and few and far between ever since -- and Allred hinted to us out on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that has been by design.