Brittney Griner verdict: Found guilty, 9 year prison sentence

KHIMKI, Russia — A choose in Russia convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling Thursday and sentenced her to 9 years in prison. for drug possession and smuggling.

Judge Anna Sotnikova mentioned the time Griner has served in custody since her arrest in February would rely towards the sentence.

Griner reacted to the sentence with little emotion. She listened to the decision from the defendant’s cage, a clean stare on her face.

While recapping the proof and giving her findings Thursday, the choose mentioned the 31-year-old Griner illegally introduced medicine into Russia.

Before the unusually fast verdict was introduced, Griner made a remaining enchantment to the court docket. She mentioned she had no intention to interrupt the regulation by bringing vape cartridges with hashish oil into the nation when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg.

Attention now turns to the opportunity of a high-stakes prisoner swap that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Under the proposed deal, Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would go free.

Russian officers have remained poker-faced a couple of potential deal and chafed at U.S. statements in regards to the case, saying a potential deal must be mentioned by way of “quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information.”

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an announcement on the decision that referred to Griner as “wrongfully detained,” a designation that Russian officers have bristled at.

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner obtained a prison sentence that’s another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I name on Russia to launch her instantly so she will be along with her spouse, family members, pals, and teammates,” Biden mentioned.

This is a breaking news replace. The earlier story will be seen beneath.

American basketball star Brittney Griner illegally introduced medicine into Russia, the choose at her trial dominated Thursday on the conclusion of her case that reached the very best ranges of U.S.-Russian diplomacy.

The pronouncement by Judge Anna Sotnikova got here simply previous to her asserting a verdict, appeared to herald the approaching conviction of Griner on costs of possession and smuggling of hashish oil.

A prosecutor urged that she be sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison.

Earlier within the session, with a conviction all however sure, an emotional Griner made a remaining enchantment to the court docket for leniency. She mentioned she had no intention to interrupt the regulation by bringing vape cartridges with hashish oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner mentioned, her voice cracking. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

Under Russian regulation, the 31-year-old Griner faces as much as 10 years in prison, however judges have appreciable latitude on sentencing.

If she doesn’t go free, consideration will flip to the opportunity of a high-stakes prisoner swap that was proposed final week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his Russian counterpart.

Griner mentioned she made “an honest mistake” in bringing the vape cartridges into Russia, including: “I hope in your ruling it does not end my life.”

Griner mentioned Yekaterinburg, a metropolis east of the Ural Mountains, had change into her “second home.”

“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such a great impression on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent here,” she mentioned. “I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting on me, and that’s what kept making me come back here.”

Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the hashish oil intentionally, and he requested the court docket handy Briner a advantageous of 1 million rubles (about $16,700) along with the prison sentence.

Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury middle and two-time Olympic gold medalist have sought to bolster Griner’s competition that she had no felony intent and that the canisters ended up in her baggage by mistake. They offered character witnesses from the Yekaterinburg staff that she performs for within the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a health care provider who mentioned he prescribed her cannabis for ache remedy from accidents sustained in her basketball profession.

Her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, argued that Griner used the hashish solely in Arizona, the place medical marijuana is authorized.

She emphasised that Griner was packing in haste after a grueling flight and affected by the results of COVID-19. Blagovolina additionally identified that the evaluation of hashish present in Griner’s possession was flawed and violated authorized procedures.

Blagovolina requested the court docket to acquit Griner, noting that she had no previous felony file and hailing her function in “the development of Russian basketball.”

Another protection lawyer, Alexander Boykov, additionally emphasised Griner’s function in taking her Yekaterinburg staff to win a number of championships, noting that she was cherished and admired by her teammates.

He instructed the choose {that a} conviction would undermine Russia’s efforts to develop nationwide sports activities and make Moscow’s name to depoliticize sports activities sound shallow.

Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner gained the sympathy of each her guards and prison inmates, who supported her by shouting, “Brittney, everything will be OK!” when she went on walks on the jail.

Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the hashish oil intentionally, and he requested the court docket handy Briner a advantageous of 1 million rubles (about $16,700) along with the prison sentence.

If she doesn’t go free, consideration will flip to the high-stakes chance of a prisoner swap.

Before her trial started in July, the State Department designated her as “wrongfully detained,” transferring her case beneath the supervision of its particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs, successfully the federal government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Then final week, in an extraordinary move, Blinken spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, urging him to simply accept a deal beneath which Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would go free.

The Lavrov-Blinken name marked the highest-level identified contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia despatched troops into Ukraine greater than 5 months in the past. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with U.S. efforts to isolate the Kremlin.

People accustomed to the proposal say it envisions buying and selling Griner and Whelan for the infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout, who’s serving a prison sentence within the United States. It underlines the general public stress that the White House has confronted to get Griner launched.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned Monday that Russia has made a “bad faith” response to the U.S. authorities’s supply, a counteroffer that American officers don’t regard as critical. She declined to elaborate.

Russian officers have scoffed at U.S. statements in regards to the case, saying they present a disrespect for Russian regulation. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to debate the difficulty by way of “quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information.”