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Imprisoned basketball player Brittney Greener’s admission to drug charges could play a role in speeding her departure from Russia, but it’s a risky bet that could have significant downsides, a hostage expert told Fox News Digital.
“I can’t say it’s the right thing or the wrong thing to do, because in any case, the Russian system … it’s not our system,” said Hugh Duggan, acting special envoy for hostage issues during the administration of Trump. “But that’s the gamble based on the direction her lawyers are advising her.
“To our eyes, it looks like, OK, that puts her in that status where they can do it.” [prisoner] exchange.”
Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges July 7 has been detained in Russia since February after Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
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The guilty plea does not end the case, but some suggest it could speed up the trial along with Griner’s release from prison. She could be eligible for a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington
Duggan explained that according to the books, Griner would have to return to the U.S. and complete his sentence in an American prison, something he said would not happen in any formal way, if it did happen.
WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives for a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow on July 7, 2022 (Kyril Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
“In this type of prisoner exchange, you have to complete your sentences and respect the judgment of each relevant party,” he said, adding that “it is doubtful that the Russians will force their man to lie in prison there for another, so many years .
“That would mean establishing a designated prison here for at least the next ten years if it was a bona fide prisoner exchange under our consular procedures and agreements with Russia on these matters,” Dugan added. “We didn’t see that happen with [Trevor] The reed. I didn’t see that happen with any kind of arrangements like that when I was playing.”
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Rebecca Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former DIA intelligence officer, explained that most details of any deals would remain out of the public eye and through diplomatic channels.
“They don’t want anything public,” she said. “The one thing about the Russian system that is very, very different from the American system is that there is virtually no independent judicial process, especially in high-visibility cases like this.”
WNBA superstar Brittney Griner sits in a defendant’s cell during a hearing in Khimki court in the city of Khimki outside Moscow on July 15, 2022. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Russians claim that she was not detained illegally. She was in possession of drugs,” Kofler continued. “This is actually the collision of two legal systems.
She added that it depends “what Putin wants”.
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Duggan worries that by pleading guilty — even if Greiner does intend to be eligible for a prisoner exchange and expedite her departure from Moscow — Greiner has strengthened Russia’s negotiating position.
Part of the problem arises from Griner’s “admission” of her criminal activity, which Duggan says makes it difficult to classify her as a hostage. He noted that officials found it difficult to argue for her “hostage” status because she had been in pre-trial proceedings for months, meaning her status would qualify as “unlawfully detained.”
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Greener is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki, just outside Moscow, Russia, June 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
“It’s a roll of the dice as to what we’re dealing with,” he said, noting that if Greiner tries to challenge her innocence, Russian courts could set her next hearing months or even years later. “Russia will do whatever it wants anyway. … The situation is hopeless no matter what.”
And Greener is not the only American in Russian custody. Trevor Reed recently returned home, but Paul Whelan, an executive at the automation supplier BorgWarner, remains in prison after being excluded from the prisoner swap that brought Reed home.
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The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which tracks Americans wrongfully detained in foreign countries, lists more than 60 American citizens detained in countries that include Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Venezuela, among others, according to Reuters.
Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
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