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A Russian prosecutor asked a judge Thursday to sentence WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner to nine and a half years in prison on drug charges, and the defense team in her trial said the judge was expected to hand down her sentence by the evening.
In seeking the nearly 10-year maximum, the state’s request ignored the athlete’s plea for leniency. Griner pleaded guilty in July to bringing cannabis oil vape cartridges into the country.
The prosecutor’s call for a stiff sentence for Griner – as well as a fine of 1 million rubles ($16,590) – came amid calls from the United States for Russia to seriously consider its offer of a prisoner swap to bring her home.
A member of Griner’s legal team, Alexander Boykov, told the judge that Griner deserved to be acquitted despite her guilty plea, saying the prosecution had failed to prove criminal intent. In addition, he said, her rights were violated during the investigation and trial.
“We know that in Russia the laws regarding drugs are very strict,” Boykov said, “but Russia also cares about its prestige in sports.” Griner’s career and her play for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason is a celebration of friendship between people, he continued. “She had many offers, but for some reason she chose cold Yekaterinburg, knowing how warmly she would be received there.
Prosecutors say the 0.702 grams of cannabis found in Griner’s luggage after she landed at Sheremetyevo International Airport in February was a “significant amount.” Griner testified last week that she was in a hurry when packing, had no idea the items were in her bags and had no intention of breaking Russian law.
The Phoenix Mercury star testified that he uses cannabis oil in the United States to treat chronic pain from injuries, but knows that bringing cannabis into Russia is illegal. She said she flew to Russia despite warnings from the US State Department about such travel because she did not want to disappoint her Russian team.
The Biden administration is under enormous public pressure to secure her release, backroom negotiations greatly complicated by the breakdown in relations between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov late last week, urging him to accept a deal that included Greener and former security adviser Paul Whelan, an American who is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia. Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, says he was bullied.
Blinken, Lavrov discussed potential prisoner swap for Griner, Whelan
The United States declined to say whether the two would be exchanged for Russian Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker who was arrested in a US special operation in Thailand in 2008.
The administration’s announcement of its proposed deal appeared to be an attempt to limit criticism of its handling of the Griner case. But the Kremlin has told Washington to refrain from “megaphone diplomacy,” with Russian foreign ministry officials repeatedly warning that public appeals will not help its cause.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said on Tuesday that the administration would not negotiate publicly.
“We made a serious offer, we made a serious offer,” Kirby said. “And we urge the Russians to accept this proposal because it was made sincerely and we know we can support it.
In recent years, the United States has resisted Russian pressure to exchange Bout, given the seriousness of his crimes. He was convicted in New York in 2011 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to sell surface-to-air missiles, AK-47s and explosives to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, knowing they planned to overthrow U.S. helicopters.
A deal to bring Bout home would be a major political victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling to his domestic audience that despite unprecedented Western criticism and sanctions, he still has the leverage to force the White House to negotiate with him.
Bloomberg reported that as part of the exchange, Moscow could seek the release of a wealthy Russian businessman close to the Kremlin, Vladislav Klyushin, who pleaded not guilty in a Boston court in January to an alleged $82 million insider trading fraud. Klyushin claims the case against him is “politically motivated” because of his ties to the Russian government.
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