Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prime spokesman gave no indication Monday that WNBA star Brittney Griner shall be launched quickly by Russian authorities who say they discovered cannabis oil in her baggage.
In an unique interview with NBC News’ Keir Simmons, the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, disputed the State Department’s place that Griner is a Russian hostage.
Griner, he stated, was no totally different from “hundreds and hundreds of Russian citizens that were sentenced for carrying hashish.”
“Why should we make an exemption for a foreign citizen?” he added.
Griner, 31, was detained in February after she landed in Moscow; authorities stated a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, a by-product of hashish. The offense might carry a most penalty of 10 years in jail in Russia.
Peskov was interviewed in Moscow, the place the federal government is cracking down on journalists and limiting what reporters can say beneath menace of imprisonment.
In May, the State Department reclassified Griner as having been “wrongfully detained” and transferred oversight of her case to the State Department Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
“She violated Russian law, and now she’s being prosecuted,” Peskov stated. “It’s not about being a hostage. There are lots of American citizens here. They’re enjoying their freedoms … but you have to obey the laws.”
Asked why Russia didn’t refuse Griner entry or hasn’t simply despatched her residence, Peskov stated he couldn’t touch upon Russian regulation enforcement’s determination.
Griner’s authorized workforce didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Monday.
Griner was in Russia to play within the nation’s skilled league in the course of the WNBA’s offseason, and her detention has been prolonged thrice. The most up-to-date extension leaves her behind bars till no less than July 2, based on the Russian state news company Tass.
Her teammates, household and followers have pushed for her release, fearing Griner, the star middle for the Phoenix Mercury, is getting used to achieve leverage in Russia’s confrontation with the U.S.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, stated this month that “it remains clear that BG is being used as a political pawn,” and he or she urged President Joe Biden to do no matter is important to convey her residence.
Griner, a 6-foot-9 native of Houston, has gained two Olympic gold medals, a WNBA championship with the Mercury and a nationwide title at Baylor University. She is ranked as one of the highest 25 WNBA gamers since its founding in 1996.
Tass reported last month that Griner could possibly be exchanged for convicted arms supplier Viktor Bout.
NBC News wasn’t in a position to verify the report, and Peskov stated he had no information about whether or not any doable swaps have been within the works. He referred to as Bout, who’s serving a 25-year jail sentence within the U.S., “a real hostage” who has been stored within the U.S. jail for greater than a decade.
In April, Russia launched former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed in a prisoner trade by which President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving time in Connecticut.
Separately, Peskov appeared to agree with NATO’s conclusion that the battle in Ukraine might turn into a lengthy one.
“If you speak about the problem of security, of the continental security and global security, yes, it will be a long-lasting crisis,” he said. “Russia will insist … that its security is ensured. Russia will insist, and we will never trust the West anymore.”
Laura Saravia and Natasha Lebedeva contributed.