U.S. basketball star Griner's 9-year drug sentence upheld in Russia - Reuters

KRASNOGORSK, Russia, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A Russian tribunal connected Tuesday dismissed U.S. WNBA hoops prima Brittney Griner's entreaty against a nine-year condemnation for possessing and smuggling vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, paving the mode for her to beryllium sent to a penal colony, successful a tribunal lawsuit that Washington has called "sham."

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose medication successful precocious July had projected a woody for a captive swap with Russia to unafraid the merchandise of Griner and erstwhile U.S. marine Paul Whelan, said helium volition not fto up efforts to bring them home.

"We're successful changeless interaction with Russian authorities to get Brittney and others out. So acold we've not been gathering with overmuch affirmative effect but we're not stopping," helium said.

Griner, a two-time Olympic golden medallist, was arrested connected Feb. 17 astatine a Moscow airport, a week earlier Russia sent troops into Ukraine. The souring of ties betwixt Russia and the West has further analyzable the talks betwixt Washington and Moscow to unafraid her release.

Griner and her lawyers had asked for acquittal oregon astatine slightest a simplification successful her sentence, which they said was disproportionate to the offence and astatine likelihood with Russian judicial practice.

After retiring for nary much than 30 minutes to see the appeal, the presiding justice said the archetypal verdict was upheld "without changes" but for the counting of clip served successful pre-trial detention arsenic portion of the sentence.

The authorities authoritative had said Griner's Aug. 4 condemnation of 9 years successful a penal colony was "fair", but Alexander Boykov, 1 of her lawyers, had told the three-judge sheet sitting successful Krasnogorsk, connected the outskirts of Moscow:

"No judge, manus connected heart, volition honestly accidental that Griner's nine-year condemnation is successful enactment with Russian transgression law," Boykov said.

Griner's lawyers successful a connection said it would beryllium immoderate clip earlier Griner was moved to a situation colony, and that they had not yet decided whether to effort to motorboat different appeal. They besides added her lawsuit record would person to beryllium translated into English, which would besides instrumentality immoderate time.

It was not instantly wide wherever she would beryllium sent.

"The severity and cruelty of the condemnation applied to Griner shocks radical astir the world," Boykov said.

Biden's nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan, successful an earlier statement, described Griner's conditions arsenic "intolerable circumstances" and the proceedings she had to spell done "another sham judicial proceeding."

Permitted to marque a last connection by unrecorded video nexus from her detention centre successful the municipality of Novoye Grishino, conscionable extracurricular Moscow, Griner said however stressful her eight-month detention and 2 trials had been.

"I was hardly implicit the important magnitude [of cannabis oil] ... People with much terrible crimes person gotten little than what I was given," she said.

'I DID NOT INTEND TO DO THIS'

Griner apologised for what she said was an honorable mistake, arsenic she had astatine her archetypal trial, saying: "I did not mean to bash this", and asking the tribunal to instrumentality into relationship the information that she had pleaded guilty.

She has said she utilized aesculapian cannabis to relieve the symptom from a bid of sports injuries. Both recreational and medicinal uses are prohibited successful Russia.

Wearing a achromatic and reddish lumberjack garment implicit a achromatic hooded top, the 32-year-old alternately sat oregon stood successful her cell, sometimes with caput lowered, sometimes leaning against the achromatic bars.

When asked if she had understood the verdict, she simply replied "Yes" earlier being led away.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said successful a briefing Washington has been telling Moscow, including successful their talks successful caller days, to prosecute connected the U.S. proposal.

"At the precise slightest they should prosecute earnestly and constructively and successful bully faith. If that happens, we are prepared to spot to it and to instrumentality steps tomorrow," Price said.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth Rood, the ranking U.S. diplomat successful Moscow, told media waiting extracurricular the tribunal that she had not been allowed to talk to Griner earlier oregon aft the hearing.

Griner's lawyers said her biggest fearfulness was not being exchanged and having to service her full condemnation successful Russia. "She had hopes for contiguous arsenic each month, each time distant from her household and friends matters to her."

Reporting by Filipp Lebedev and Olesya Astakhova; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Daphne Psaledakis successful Washington, Writing by Kevin Liffey and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Nick Macfie and Marguerita Choy

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