KHIMKI, Russia — The defense group of U.S. basketball participant Brittney Griner, detained in Russia on drug prices, argued in courtroom on Tuesday that she had used medical hashish to assuage ache from injuries, like many different elite worldwide athletes.
Griner, a Women’s National Basketball Association star who has performed in Russia through the league’s offseason, was detained at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17 with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her baggage. Medical marijuana is unlawful in Russia.
She faces a potential jail sentence of as much as 10 years in a case that has highlighted the fraught relations between Russia and the United States at a time of heightened pressure over Moscow’s navy intervention in Ukraine.
A narcology knowledgeable summoned by the defense argued that medical hashish was extensively used to deal with athletes the place it was authorized, and infrequently had fewer negative effects than different painkillers.
“With the prescription in place, Brittney may have used it for medical but not recreational purposes,” mentioned lawyer Maria Blagovolina, companion at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners regulation agency.
Wearing round-rimmed glasses and a black and gray sweatshirt with “Black Lives For Peace” on the again, Griner listened to the proceedings through a translator.
Before taking a seat within the defendant’s cage, she held up a lined sheet of paper with photos of her two finest mates, a teammate and her spouse Cherelle carrying her #42 Phoenix Mercury jersey, her WNBA group.
The two-time Olympic champion, who has appealed to U.S. President Joe Biden to safe her launch, has pled responsible however denied she meant to interrupt Russian regulation.
Griner — recognized as “BG” to basketball followers — will seem in courtroom once more on Wednesday, the place she could possibly be known as upon to testify. An additional listening to within the case is scheduled for Aug. 2, Griner’s defense group mentioned.
U.S. officers and outstanding athletes argue the 31-year-old has been wrongly detained and have known as for her to be launched instantly. The Russian authorities dismiss the U.S. criticism, with the Kremlin saying the case has nothing to do with politics.