Sentenced in Russia to nine years in prison for cannabis trafficking, American basketball player Brittney Griner did not win her case on Tuesday during her appeal trial at the Krasnogorsk court in the Moscow region. “I really hope that the court will adjust this verdict because it has been very stressful and very traumatic for my mental and psychological state”, explained the 32-year-old athlete, participating in the hearing by videoconference.
Russian justice immediately rejected the appeal of the double Olympic champion with the American selection, currently imprisoned in Russia. A decision that provoked an immediate strong reaction in Washington. “President Biden has been very clear that Brittney must be released immediately,” said Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor.
He regrets that Brittney Griner continues to be “wrongly imprisoned, under unacceptable circumstances, after having to undergo a new bogus legal procedure today”. The Russian court decided on Tuesday to “leave unchanged” the verdict handed down in August against the WNBA star. Judge Elena Vorontsova clarified that the justice system would make a relaxation of the initial sentence: each day of detention before the conviction of Brittney Griner (incarcerated since February 2022) will be counted as a day and a half already spent in prison.
Wearing a red and black checkered shirt, the basketball player notably expressed her grief on Tuesday at being away from her family, and not being able to communicate with her. She said she “did not understand” such a severe judgment against her, “while people are being inflicted much less than me for more serious crimes”. One of his lawyers, Alexander Boïkov, for his part asked the court to “consider an acquittal because of the dismissal”.
“The eyes of the whole world are on this case, insisted Me Boïkov. The cruelty of this judgment strikes not only the participants in the trial, but also people all over the world. Brittney Griner was arrested in Moscow in possession of a vaporizer containing cannabis-based liquid. She had admitted to having possessed this substance, however claiming to have brought it to Russia inadvertently and to use it legally in the United States as a painkiller.
She had gone to Russia to play during the American offseason, a common practice for WNBA basketball players who often earn more money abroad than in the United States. The case of this athlete, who was sentenced last August to nine years in prison for cannabis trafficking, has since taken on geopolitical significance in the context of the crisis between Moscow and Washington linked to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Other American citizens are currently incarcerated in Russia and the United States also wants to secure their release. Washington has repeatedly said it has made a “substantial offer” to release two Americans imprisoned in Russia, Brittney Griner and former US soldier Paul Whelan. According to Russian diplomatic sources, a possible exchange of prisoners could notably concern Brittney Griner and a Russian arms trafficker detained in the United States, Viktor Bout. The latter was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.