The verdict fell like a cleaver. On Thursday, the Russian Prosecutor’s Office requested nine and a half years in prison against American basketball star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia on charges of cannabis trafficking, in full tension between Moscow and Washington.
“I ask that Griner be found guilty and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in a colony [pénitentiaire] conventional regime “, and a fine of one million rubles (16,000 euros), said prosecutor Nikolai Vlassenko, according to an AFP journalist present at the hearing at the Khimki court, near Moscow. This is almost the maximum possible requisition for this crime, set at 10 years in prison.
Washington negotiates a prisoner exchange with Moscow
The double Olympic champion pleaded guilty while claiming to have brought this substance to Russia inadvertently and refuting any drug trafficking. On Thursday, the prosecutor assured him that she had knowingly tried to “hide” this cannabis-based liquid from customs officers at the airport.
While this verdict is not surprising in the current geopolitical context with the war in Ukraine and the ever-escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow, talks have been taking place for several days now about a possible prisoner exchange, including the player could be part of.