Brittney Griner Sentenced to 9 Years on Drug Possession Charges
The White House, meanwhile, has said they are working on a potential prisoner exchange with Russia to bring Griner and another American imprisoned in the country back to the U.S.
Brittney Griner, a WNBA star, has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian jail on drug smuggling charges.
Griner’s attorneys said in a statement that the decision, which is just short of the maximum penalty of ten years, is “totally unreasonable” and that they will “definitely launch an appeal.”
A Russian judge read Griner’s verdict nearly an hour after her lawyers and the prosecution finished their concluding statements on Thursday. The Phoenix Mercury singer delivered an impassioned address in which she reiterated her position that, while she pled guilty to smuggling less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia, she did so “inadvertently” and begged the court for mercy.
“That’s why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that’s been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intent to break any Russian laws,” Griner said, according to CNN.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said the ruling was “unacceptable.”
“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” he said. “It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”
During closing arguments, Russian prosecutors requested the judge to sentence Griner to nine years and six months in jail, barely short of the maximum permissible punishment of ten years. According to The New York Times, the prosecution also requested that Griner be fined 1 million rubles ($16,600).
Despite the Russian court’s decision in Griner’s case, the Biden administration is still working on an agreement with Russian officials to send Griner and Paul Whelan, another American detained in the nation, home.
In a statement issued Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Russian court’s decision “highlights our concerns with the Russian government’s use of unlawful detentions.”
Blinken stated last Wednesday that the Biden administration offered Russia a “significant” bargain to secure the pair’s release, which the White House confirmed and he underlined Thursday that they plan to “do everything we can” to return Griner and Paul Whelan home “as soon as possible.”
The U.S. reportedly offered to swap the two for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, and Russian officials have also asked the U.S. to include a convicted murderer and former Russian spy named Vadim Krasikov, according to CNN.
Both the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, and a Defense Department spokesperson have said Russia made this counter-proposal in “bad faith,” according to CNN and ESPN.
“It’s a bad faith attempt to avoid a very serious offer and proposal that the United States has put forward and we urge Russia to take that offer seriously,” Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said.