Griner took portion successful the Moscow Regional Court proceeding via video telephone from a penal colony extracurricular Moscow wherever she is imprisoned.
Griner’s February apprehension came astatine a clip of heightened tensions betwixt Moscow and Washington, conscionable days earlier Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner was returning to Russia, wherever she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.
Griner admitted she had the canisters successful her luggage but testified that she inadvertently packed them successful haste and had nary transgression intent. Her defence squad presented written statements saying she had been prescribed cannabis to dainty pain.
The nine-year condemnation was adjacent to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued aft the condemnation that the punishment was excessive. They said successful akin cases defendants person received an mean condemnation of astir 5 years, with astir a 3rd of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to beryllium “wrongfully detained” — a complaint that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting increasing unit connected the Biden administration to bash much to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the antithetic measurement of revealing publically successful July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, on with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year condemnation successful Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and different quality organizations person reported that Washington has offered to speech Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trader who is serving a 25-year condemnation successful the U.S. and erstwhile earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
The White House said it has not yet received a productive effect from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats person refused to remark connected the U.S. connection and urged Washington to sermon the substance successful confidential talks, avoiding nationalist statements.
In September, U.S. President Joe Biden met with Cherelle Griner, the woman of Brittney Griner, arsenic good arsenic the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden besides sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.
The White House said aft the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued committedness to moving done each disposable avenues to bring Brittney and Paul location safely.”
The U.S. and Russia carried retired a captive swap successful April. Moscow released U.S. Marines seasoned Trevor Reed successful speech for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was convicted successful a cause trafficking conspiracy.
Moscow besides has pushed for the merchandise of different Russians successful U.S. custody.
One of them is Alexander Vinnik, who was accused of laundering billions of dollars done an illicit cryptocurrency exchange. Vinnik was arrested successful Greece successful 2017 and extradited to the U.S. successful August.
Vinnik’s French lawyer, Frederic Belot, told Russian paper Izvestia past period that his lawsuit hoped to beryllium portion of a imaginable swap.
The paper speculated that different imaginable campaigner was Roman Seleznev, the lad of a Russian lawmaker. He was sentenced successful 2017 to 27 years successful situation connected charges from a hacking and recognition paper fraud scheme.
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