A Russian courtroom on Tuesday upheld the nine-year jail sentence for American basketball star Brittney Griner, denying her attraction following her conviction on drug smuggling costs in a case that has additional soured U.S.-Russian relations.
Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of many WNBA’s largest stars, was arrested on Feb. 17 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after Russian authorities stated she had vape cartridges containing unlawful hashish oil inside her baggage. She was later convicted and sentenced in a prison trial that U.S. officers stated was a “sham from the beginning.”
She pleaded responsible to the fees however stated she didn’t intend to smuggle medicine whereas packing swiftly for the flight. Her protection attorneys introduced docs’ notes authorizing her to make use of medical marijuana, which is prohibited in Russia.
“The decision of Moscow’s Khimki Metropolis Court docket with respect to Brittney Griner shall be modified to provide credit score for the time spent within the pretrial detention unit. The remainder of the decision shall be left unchanged. The attraction of the protection has been dismissed,” based on the decision issued by a trio of judges, the official Russian Tass information service reported Tuesday.
In an announcement, Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan stated the White Home condemned the choice by the Moscow Regional Court docket upholding the sentence towards Ms. Griner, who was touring to Russia to play for an area staff in Yekaterinburg.
“Brittney Griner will proceed to be wrongfully detained beneath insupportable circumstances after having to bear one other sham judicial continuing at this time,” Mr. Sullivan stated. “President Biden has been very clear that Brittney ought to be launched instantly.”
Ms. Griner, 32, unsuccessfully pleaded for leniency in a video hyperlink to the regional courtroom.
“I actually hope that the courtroom will alter this sentence as a result of it has been very, very annoying and really traumatic,” she stated.
Her attorneys nonetheless have the suitable to attraction the sentence to a better courtroom.
The U.S. authorities continues to interact with Russia “by means of each accessible channel” in an effort to deliver house Ms. Griner and to advocate for different Individuals now detained in Russia, together with Paul Whelan, a safety government sentenced to 16 years in jail after being accused of espionage, White Home officers stated.
The Biden administration has proposed a prisoner swap that will consequence within the launch of Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan, reportedly in trade for the discharge of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms vendor now serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. jail.
Mr. Sullivan stated the Biden administration is in common contact with representatives of Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan’s households.
“We proceed to admire their braveness within the face of those unimaginable circumstances,” he stated.
Originally published at Irvine News HQ
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