Unsurprisingly after the requisitions of the prosecution, the American basketball star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia since February, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison by a Russian court for drug trafficking, after his arrest with a vape containing liquid of cannabis.
“The court found the defendant guilty” of illegal possession and trafficking of a “significant amount” of drugs, said judge Anna Sotnikova, and sentenced her “to nine years in a penal colony”.
Griner begged for clemency from the court
Before her sentence was pronounced, Brittney Griner had begged the judge to show clemency. “I made a mistake in good faith and I hope that the judgment will not end my life here,” said the Phoenix Mercury player.
For their part, the United States, through their head of diplomacy Antony Blinken, are negotiating with Moscow the possibility of an exchange of prisoners which would include the American basketball player.