Texas WNBA star Brittney Griner pleads guilty to drug charge in Russia

Sign up for The Brief, our each day publication that retains readers up to pace on essentially the most important Texas news.

RIGA, Latvia — American WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to carrying hashish oil on the second day of a trial in Moscow that would see her sentenced to 10 years in jail, in accordance to media reviews from the courtroom.

A Reuters reporter quoted Griner as saying: “I’d like to plead guilty, Your Honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law.” She then requested to give her testimony at a later date, saying she wanted time to put together, and the courtroom adjourned till July 14.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated the “hype” and stress in the United States for a prisoner trade involving Griner weren’t serving to her possibilities of launch. Ryabkov spoke to journalists because the courtroom convened Thursday in the Moscow suburb of Khimki.

“The American side’s attempts to foment hype and make noise in the public environment are understandable, but they don’t help to practically resolve issues,” Ryabkov advised journalists.

Griner entered the courtroom handcuffed and sporting a purple shirt and purple slacks, in accordance to video from state-owned RIA Novosti. She carried a plastic bag in one hand.

In an earlier listening to final week, Russian customs officers stated Griner was discovered with two vape cartridges in her baggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in February, every week earlier than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The prosecution stated the cartridges contained a “significant amount” of hashish oil, though the quantity concerned is 0.702 grams (0.02 ounces), in accordance to investigators.

Ryabkov advised the Russian facet was keen to negotiate as soon as Griner’s case was full, saying “we have a long-established form for discussing these matters.”

“Clearly the necessary judicial procedures have not been completed. Until then, there is no nominal, formal, procedural basis for any further steps at all,” Ryabkov stated.

Griner was arrested throughout extreme pressure between Washington and Moscow, which has worsened with Russia’s battle on Ukraine. In January, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued an alert warning Americans towards any journey to Russia due to the extreme downturn as diplomatic efforts to avert the battle failed.

A White House assertion Wednesday stated Griner was being held below “intolerable circumstances” after President Biden and Vice President Harris referred to as Griner’s spouse, Cherelle, assuring her they had been doing all they might to safe her launch and that of one other American jailed in Russia, former Marine Paul Whelan.

Whelan, a safety marketing consultant, has been in jail since December 2018. He traveled to Moscow for a pal’s marriage ceremony and was arrested in his resort room after which convicted of spying in a closed trial, receiving a 16-year sentence.

Whelan’s sister Elizabeth Whelan stated his household was “astonished” that Biden referred to as Griner’s spouse however didn’t name them, in accordance to the Detroit News.

In a prisoner trade with the United States in April, Moscow swapped former Marine Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year jail sentence in Connecticut for drug trafficking. Reed obtained a nine-year sentence after being convicted of assault endangering the lives of law enforcement officials.

Griner lately wrote to Biden begging him not to overlook her and different detainees and saying that “I’m terrified I might be here forever.” Biden has written a letter in reply.

Griner’s supporters in the United States say she is a hostage and a political pawn.

Russian media has speculated that Washington may trade Griner for Russian arms vendor Viktor Bout, who’s serving 25 years in the United States for conspiring to promote surface-to-air missiles to a overseas terrorist group and conspiring to kill U.S. residents. Bout, the inspiration for the Nicolas Cage movie “Lord of War,” smuggled arms to warlords in Africa and the Middle East for years till his 2008 arrest in Thailand and 2010 extradition to the United States.

Russia calls Bout’s arrest and conviction “unlawful and political” and has been demanding his launch ever since he was arrested.

According to the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for prisoner and hostage releases, there are 64 Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas. Foley was a journalist kidnapped in northern Syria in 2012 and murdered in 2014. The quantity contains two individuals granted U.S. immigrant visas however detained earlier than they might journey to the United States.

In current years, there was a worrying rise in “hostage diplomacy” when nations seize rival nations’ residents on flimsy fees to use for leverage. The State Department has accused Russia of wrongfully detaining Griner, Reed and Whelan, however there have been comparable alarming incidents in China, North Korea and Iran.

Among the Americans described by the State Department as wrongfully detained in China are Mark Swidan, jailed since 2012, Kai Li, imprisoned since 2016 and pastor David Lin, jailed since 2008.

In early May, the State Department determined that Griner was being wrongfully held and shifted supervision of her case to Roger Carstens, presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed claims that the fees had been political, saying that drug offenses had been handled critically in Russia and plenty of different international locations.

Join us at The Texas Tribune Festival, occurring Sept. 22-24 in downtown Austin, and listen to from 300+ audio system shaping the way forward for Texas together with Joe Straus, Jen Psaki, Joaquin Castro, Mayra Flores and plenty of others. See all audio system introduced to date and buy tickets.