US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling in Russia on Thursday and sentenced to nine years in prison in a case that has sparked concern. used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Judge Anna Sotnikova of the Khimki city court handed down the sentence and fined Griner 1 million rubles, or about $16,400. He said the court took into account Griner’s partial admission of guilt, remorse for the act, state of health and charitable activities. The prosecution had requested that she be sentenced to 9.5 years in prison.
Before the verdict, Griner apologized to the court and asked for mercy in an emotional speech.
“I never wanted to hurt anybody, I never wanted to endanger the Russian population, I never wanted to break any laws here,” Griner said. “I made an honest mistake and I hope your sentence doesn’t end my life here. I know everyone keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that’s far from this courtroom.
“I want to say again that I had no intention of breaking any Russian law. I had no intention. I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime,” he added.
After the sentencing, Griner told a CNN producer as he left court: “I love my family.”
The verdict comes about six months after the 31-year-old was arrested at a Moscow airport and charged by Russian prosecutors with trying to smuggle. less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in the luggage. Two-time US Olympic gold medalist in basketball pleaded guilty on drug charges last month and said he accidentally packed the drugs while in a hurry.
Griner’s lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a written statement that they will appeal the decision and criticized the court for ignoring their evidence. They have 10 days to appeal the decision.
“We are very disappointed with the verdict. As legal professionals, we believe that the court should be fair to everyone, regardless of nationality. The court completely ignored all the evidence of the defense and, most importantly, the guilty plea “, they said in the statement. “This contradicts existing legal practice. Given the amount of substance (not to mention the flaws in the expertise) and the allegation, the verdict is absolutely unreasonable. We will certainly file an appeal.”
Speaking outside court, Boykov said the average time in prison for this type of crime is five years, adding that nearly a third of those convicted get parole.
Griner “is not well today,” said Blagovolina, a partner at the law firm Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners. The defense team is hopeful that Griner will be able to speak with his family next week. Blagovolina added that Griner will return to the detention center where she is being held.
The ruling comes amid strained relations between the US and Russia
The harsh sentence comes against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the country’s tussle with the US and Europe. The US State Department maintains that Griner is being detained unjustly and US officials have offered a possible prisoner exchange with Russia in an attempt to bring her home safely.
Chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Russia, Elizabeth Rood, said the ruling was a “mistrial” and U.S. President Joe Biden said the long sentence was “unacceptable”.
“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is yet another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is unjustly detaining Brittney. It is unacceptable and I am calling on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with his wife, loved ones, friends and teammates,” Biden said in a statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Russian legal system more broadly, saying the ruling “puts a spotlight on our significant concerns with the Russian legal system and the Russian government’s use of unlawful detention to advance their own agenda, using people as political pawns.”
He said the US is working to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, a US citizen who has been detained by Russia on suspicion of espionage since 2018. “This is an absolute priority of mine and of the Department,” he said.
CNN national security analyst Steve Hall said the harsh sentence was not a surprise and argued that Russia’s legal proceedings are not legitimate.
“This is all a performance in Russia. There was never any doubt what was going to happen,” he said. “What Vladimir Putin is trying to do is basically increase Ms. Griner’s bargaining price.”
Last week, CNN reported that the Biden administration proposed a prisoner exchange with Russiaoffering to release a convicted Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Russian officials countered the US offerbut U.S. officials did not accept the request as a legitimate counteroffer, several sources familiar with the discussions said.
The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that US “megaphone diplomacy” will not help negotiations for a prisoner exchange with Griner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow believes such talks should be “discreet”.
Griner’s family, fans and WNBA teammates have continued to express messages of solidarity and hope as they await the conclusion of the trial. Her WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, is expected to play the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night at 7:00 PM ET.
In a joint statement, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver criticized the verdict and sentence as “unwarranted and unfortunate, but not unexpected.”
“The commitment of the WNBA and the NBA to its safe return has not wavered and we hope that we are nearing the end of this process to finally bring BG home to the United States,” they said.
The defense asked for leniency in closing arguments
The court hearing began Thursday shortly after Griner arrived in handcuffs, escorted by Russian agents to the defendant’s cage. Once unshackled, she spoke to her legal team and then held up a photo of the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball team, the Russian team she played for during the WNBA offseason.
In closing arguments, Blagovolina argued that Griner never used marijuana in Russia and never intended to do so. He had no need to bring the vaporizer cartridges to Russia, the lawyer added. All this confirms the complete absence of intentions in his actions, argued Blagovolina.
Even if Griner ever used medical marijuana, it was only at home in Arizona, rare and by prescription only, he added. She could not have known how strict the laws were in Russia, Blagovolina said.
Boykov also argued that Griner did not have an opportunity to properly review the court documents. He said that the Russian constitution guarantees everyone the right to use their mother tongue and the free choice of the language of communication.
Boykov cited an instance in which a language interpreter provided to Griner passed a lengthy document offered by an investigator for translation and then told Griner, “Basically, it means you’re guilty.”
Throughout the trial, Griner’s lawyers have presented arguments that undermine the prosecution’s case and have claimed that her detention was improperly handled after she was detained by staff at Sheremetyevo International Airport on February 17.
His detention, search and arrest were “inappropriate,” Boykov said last week, noting that more details would be revealed during final discussions.
After she was stopped at the airport, Griner documents were signed which she did not fully understand, she declared. At first, she said, she used Google Translate on her phone, but then she was moved to another room where her phone was taken and she was forced to sign more documents.
There was no lawyer, Griner testified, and his rights were not explained to him. These rights would include access to a lawyer once she is arrested and the right to know what she is suspected of. According to Russian law, she should have been informed of her rights within three hours of her arrest.
On Tuesday, at the seventh hearing in his case, a defense expert testified that the examination of the substance contained in Griner’s vapor cartridges did not comply with Russian law. Blagovolina also told CNN that his team’s experts identified “some flaws” in the machines used to measure the substance.
At trial, Griner testified that he had a prescription for medical cannabis and that he had no intention of bringing the drug into Russia. After her arrest in February, she was drug tested and was clean, her lawyers previously said.
“We continue to insist that out of indiscretion, in a hurry, he packed the suitcase and did not pay attention to the fact that substances allowed for use in the United States ended up in this suitcase and reached the Russian Federation,” Boykov said . of the Moscow Legal Center, he said.
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