MOSCOW, Russia (Washington Insider Magazine) – A week after pleading guilty to drug charges, American basketball player Brittney Griner was scheduled to appear in a Russian court on Thursday.
According to NBC NEWS, Griner’s hasty plea came at a hearing close to Moscow in a case that has highlighted the strained ties between Moscow and Washington due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. As pressure from Griner’s teammates and family to obtain her release on the Biden office has mounted, the Kremlin has been accused of exploiting the American as a political pawn.
Russian investigators claim to have discovered vape canisters containing cannabis oil in Griner’s luggage, which led to her detention in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Since then, she has been detained and could spend up to ten years in prison.
She admitted ownership of the vape canisters at the court last week, but claimed it was an accident that she took them to Russia.
After the court, one of Griner’s attorneys, Alexander Boikov, told journalists that Griner was rushing through packing and accidentally put the vape cartridges in her baggage.
Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a 6-foot-9 native of Houston, has won 2 Olympic gold medals. During the WNBA summer, she played for a Russian basketball club.
On Thursday, Griner is anticipated to testify and be questioned as her attorneys make their case for mercy.
Griner was classed by the State Department in May as having been “wrongfully detained,” and responsibility for her case was given to the presidential representative for hostage situations. Griner is not being kept as a hostage, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin.
As pressure mounted in the US for his government to do better to bring her home, President Joe Biden attempted to reassure Cherelle Griner last week that he was trying to obtain her release as soon as he could.
Despite rumors in Russian state run media in May that Griner may be swapped for Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian weapons dealer who is now serving a 25-year jail sentence in the United States, Griner has not received any official response from Washington on any potential prisoner exchanges.
Last week, a top Russian official said that until a decision is made in Griner’s case, no discussions for prisoner exchanges will be feasible. Her attorneys anticipate that the trial will be over by the beginning of the next month.
