United states

Brittney Griner trial resumes: Live updates

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. basketball star Brittney Greener pleaded guilty Thursday to drug possession charges on the second day of her trial in a Russian court in a case that could have sent her to prison for up to 10 years.

The sudden guilty plea from the Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist came amid a growing chorus of calls for Washington to do more to secure her freedom nearly five months after her February arrest amid rising U.S.-Russia tensions because of Ukraine.

A senior Russian diplomat said earlier that Moscow could not take any action in Griner’s case until the trial was over, and her confession could be an effort by her and her advisers to speed up the legal proceedings.

Griner, 31, was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport while returning to play basketball in Russia, and police said they found vape boxes containing cannabis oil in her luggage.

Speaking through an interpreter, Griner told the court she had no intention of committing a crime and acted unintentionally because she was packing for Moscow in a hurry. The case was then adjourned to July 14.

Griner stressed that she “committed this act negligently, unintentionally,” her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told the court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki after the guilty plea.

“Of course, we hope for leniency from the court,” she said. “Given all the circumstances of the case, given the personality of our client, we feel that a guilty plea should certainly be considered.”

Blagovolina added that other defense witnesses will be questioned at the next meeting.

Griner was escorted to the courtroom in handcuffs and wearing a bright red “Crenshaw” T-shirt and sweatpants. She also held a photo of her wife Cherelle.

White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said Griner’s guilty plea “will have no impact on negotiations” in her case.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington would continue to work for Greener’s release, as well as other Americans held by Moscow, including former Marine Paul Whelan.

“We will not back down until Britney, Paul Whelan and all other wrongfully detained Americans are reunited with their loved ones,” he tweeted, noting that US Embassy officials attended the trail again on Thursday.

Elizabeth Rudd, the embassy’s deputy chief of mission, said after the hearing that she spoke with Greener in the courtroom and shared with her a letter from President Joe Biden that she had read.

“She’s eating well, she can read books and she’s doing well under the circumstances,” Rudd said.

“I would like to reiterate the commitment of the U.S. government at the highest level to safely return home Ms. Greener and all American citizens wrongfully detained, and the commitment of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to care for and protect the interests of all American citizens detained or imprisoned in Russia,” Rudd said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov bristled at the US description of Griner as “unlawfully detained” and warned that “attempts by the US side to make noise in public … do not help to solve the problems in practice”.

The White House said Biden called Cheryl Greener on Wednesday to assure her he was doing everything he could to win her release as soon as possible. They spoke after Biden read a letter from Griner in which she said she feared she would never return home.

Washington has not revealed its strategy in the case, and the US may have little leverage over Moscow because of strong hostility to its actions in Ukraine. The State Department’s designation of Greener as a wrongful detainer moves her case under the supervision of the president’s special envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Asked about the possibility of Griner being swapped for a Russian jailed in the U.S., Ryabkov, the top Russian diplomat, noted that until her trial is over, “there are no formal or procedural reasons to talk about further steps.”

He warned that criticism from the US, including a description of Greener as wrongfully detained and disparaging comments about the Russian justice system, “make it difficult to engage in a detailed discussion of any possible exchanges”.

“The insistence with which the US administration … describes those who have been sentenced to prison for serious crimes and those who await the conclusion of investigations and judicial convictions as ‘wrongfully detained’ reflects Washington’s refusal to take a sober view for the outside world. world,” stuttered Ryabkov.

Griner’s trial was delayed after it began last week after two scheduled witnesses failed to appear. Such delays are routine in Russian courts and her detention has been granted until December 20, suggesting the proceedings could last months. However, Griner’s legal team said they expect the trial to conclude around the beginning of August.

Although Greener’s supporters initially remained low-key, calls for Washington to act increased after the trial’s first day on July 1.

An organization called Win With Black Women wrote to Biden that Blinken called Cheryl Greener, “reassuring her and stating publicly that Brittney’s safe return is a matter of personal priority; however, we are concerned that the rhetoric does not seem to match the action taken so far. We urge you to make a deal to bring Britney home quickly.

Russian media have repeatedly speculated that Griner could be swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of conspiring to kill American citizens and provide aid to a terrorist organization.

Russia has been campaigning for Bout’s release for years. But the stark disparity between Greener’s alleged crime and Booth’s global dealings in lethal weapons could make such a trade unpalatable to Washington.

Others suggested she could be traded along with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director who served 16 years in Russia on an espionage conviction that the US described as a manipulation.

Whelan’s brother, David, said he didn’t have enough information to know whether Griner’s plea would be good or bad news for her and his brother.

“The conviction rate is so high in Russia and so certain that I can see the guilty plea as an attempt to simply move the process forward,” David Whelan said, noting that the Russian government would not discuss “any release of Mr. – miss. Griner until she is convicted, sentenced and possibly appeals or seeks clemency.

Her request likely means that Washington and Moscow “will be able to seek a solution more quickly than they could before. But that doesn’t change the basic calculation that the U.S. needs to find a concession that Russia will accept in order to return one or both Brittney Greener and Paul Whelan,” he added.

Griner’s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas tweeted, “Britney Griner was a model of courage today” who “deserves our compassion, understanding, love and support.” Colas thanked Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for “reaffirming their commitment to bring Bulgaria and all Americans home and hope that out of respect for the sanctity of sports internationally, Bulgaria can come home as soon as possible.”

The WNBA players’ union said in a statement that it stands behind Greener, noting a 99 percent conviction rate in Russian courts.

“You can’t navigate it or even understand it like our own legal system,” WNBAPA Executive Director Terry Jackson said. “What we do know is that the US State Department has determined that Brittney Greener was wrongfully detained for a reason, and we’ll leave it at that.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Greener “has the sincere and unconditional support of the entire WNBA and NBA family, who look forward to her safe return, and the league will recognize BG as an honorary starter at this weekend’s WNBA All-Star Game.”

Russia showed no signs of backing down.

“This is a serious crime confirmed by indisputable evidence. … Attempts to present the case as if the American was detained illegally do not hold up,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said on Wednesday.

“The law was broken and arguments about the innocent nature of Greener’s addiction, which is by the way punishable in some US states, are inappropriate in this case,” he said.

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AP basketball writer Doug Feinberg in New York and Ellen Knickmeier and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.