U.S. basketball big name Brittney Griner used to be convicted Thursday in Russia of drug ownership and sentenced to 9 years in jail following a politically charged trial that got here amid hovering tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and may just result in a high-stakes prisoner change between the 2 international powers.
The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic champion and a eight-time all-star with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury listened with a clean expression as an interpreter translated the decision by way of Pass judgement on Anna Sotnikova. The pass judgement on additionally fined 1 million rubles (about $16,700) effective.
U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the decision and sentence as “unacceptable.” “I name on Russia to unlock her right away so she can also be along with her spouse, family members, buddies, and teammates,” Biden stated, including that he would proceed to paintings to deliver house Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction.
Previous within the consultation, with a conviction all however positive, an emotional Griner made a last enchantment to the court docket for leniency. She stated she had no aim to wreck the regulation by way of bringing vape cartridges with hashish oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball within the town of Yekaterinburg.
“I wish to ask for forgiveness to my teammates, my membership, my fanatics and the town of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I introduced on them,” Griner stated, her voice cracking. “I wish to additionally ask for forgiveness to my folks, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury group again at house, the superb girls of the WNBA, and my superb partner again at house.” Beneath Russian regulation, the 31-year-old Griner faces as much as 10 years in jail, however judges have really extensive latitude on sentencing.
If she does no longer move unfastened, consideration will flip to the potential for a high-stakes prisoner change that used to be proposed final week by way of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his Russian counterpart.
Griner stated she made “a decent mistake” in bringing the vape cartridges into Russia, including: “I am hoping for your ruling it does no longer finish my existence.” Griner stated Yekaterinburg, a town east of the Ural Mountains, had grow to be her “2d house.” “I had no concept that the staff, the towns, the fanatics, my teammates would make one of these nice influence on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent right here,” she stated. “I keep in mind vividly popping out of the gymnasium and all of the little ladies that have been within the stands there ready on me, and that’s what stored making me come again right here.” Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the hashish oil intentionally, and he requested the court docket handy Briner a effective of one million rubles (about $16,700) along with the jail sentence.
Attorneys for the Phoenix Mercury heart and two-time Olympic gold medalist have sought to reinforce Griner’s competition that she had no prison intent and that the canisters ended up in her baggage by way of mistake. They offered personality witnesses from the Yekaterinburg staff that she performs for within the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a physician who stated he prescribed her hashish for ache remedy from accidents sustained in her basketball occupation.
Her legal professional, Maria Blagovolina, argued that Griner used the hashish most effective in Arizona, the place clinical marijuana is felony.
She emphasised that Griner used to be packing in haste after a grueling flight and affected by the effects of COVID-19. Blagovolina additionally identified that the research of hashish present in Griner’s ownership used to be wrong and violated felony procedures.
Blagovolina requested the court docket to acquit Griner, noting that she had no previous prison file and hailing her position in “the improvement of Russian basketball.” Some other protection legal professional, Alexander Boykov, emphasised Griner’s position in taking her Yekaterinburg staff to win a couple of championships, noting that she used to be beloved and admired by way of her teammates. He advised the pass judgement on {that a} conviction would undermine Russia’s efforts to expand nationwide sports activities and make Moscow’s name to depoliticize sports activities sound shallow.
Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner received the sympathy of each her guards and jail inmates, who supported her by way of shouting, “Brittney, the whole thing can be OK!” when she went on walks on the prison.
Prior to her trial started in July, the State Division designated her as “wrongfully detained,” shifting her case below the supervision of its particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs, successfully the federal government’s leader hostage negotiator.
Then final week, in an ordinary transfer, Blinken spoke to Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov, urging him to just accept a deal below which Griner and Whelan would move unfastened.
The Lavrov-Blinken name marked the highest-level identified touch between Washington and Moscow since Russia despatched troops into Ukraine greater than 5 months in the past. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with U.S. efforts to isolate the Kremlin.
Folks aware of the proposal say it envisions buying and selling Griner and Whelan for the infamous hands dealer Viktor Bout, who’s serving a jail sentence in the US. It underlines the general public force that the White Space has confronted to get Griner launched.
White Space Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated Monday that Russia has made a “unhealthy religion” reaction to the U.S. executive’s be offering, a counteroffer that American officers don’t regard as severe. She declined to elaborate.
Russian officers have scoffed at U.S. statements in regards to the case, announcing they display a disrespect for Russian regulation. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to speak about the problem via “quiet international relations with out releases of speculative data.”