Brittney Griner’s 9-year prison sentence upheld by Russian court

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A Russian court on Tuesday upheld U.S basketball star Brittney Griner’s 9-year sentence to a Russian penal colony, following a authorized continuing {that a} White House official referred to as a “sham.”

Griner was arrested in a Moscow airport in February after airport officers found vape canisters and hashish oil in her baggage. But news of her detainment didn’t break within the United States till March. She pleaded responsible to smuggling medication into the nation. In August, a Russian court sentenced her to 9 years in prison. Multiple news shops reported that Griner’s lawyer had requested for a suspended sentence in Tuesday’s enchantment however had mentioned they weren’t expecting any “miracles.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the court’s choice means Griner will start serving her sentence quickly, except the Biden administration negotiates her launch. Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, had expressed fear about that chance earlier this month.

“Once that hearing is held and the order is finalized … she could be moved to a labor camp,” Cherelle Griner mentioned earlier this month. “My brain can’t even fathom it.”

The White House has been working for months to safe Brittney Griner’s launch from Russia, the place she has performed professionally since 2014. The WNBA participant has a medical marijuana prescription in Arizona, however any quantity of the substance is illegitimate in Russia. Experts have mentioned the size of her sentence seems politically motivated.

There can also be concern concerning the notoriously harsh circumstances of Russian prisons and the remedy of Griner, who’s homosexual, in a rustic recognized for homophobic persecution.

In a statement, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reiterated the White House’s place that Griner needs to be launched instantly.

“In recent weeks, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to engage with Russia through every available channel and make every effort to bring home Brittney as well as to support and advocate for other Americans detained in Russia, including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan,” he mentioned.

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