Brittney Griner, a famous player for the WNBA, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday after the Biden administration declared its readiness to participate in a prisoner exchange to release Griner and Paul Whelan, another American citizen held in Russian custody.
Griner was caught in a Moscow airport in February and later accused of importing drugs. She might spend up to ten years in jail if found guilty.
Tuesday’s hearing saw a reiteration of Griner’s defense team’s claims that the cannabis-infused vape cartridges discovered in her luggage when she landed in Russia were improperly examined by a state-appointed forensic expert.
“The examination [of the cartridges] does not comply with the legislation regarding the completeness of the study and does not comply with the norms of the [Russian Criminal] Code,” testified another forensic expert, Dmitry Gladyshev, who was called to the stand by Griner’s lawyers.
Griner admitted to having cartridges in her suitcase earlier in the trial, but she said that she had packed them accidentally and had no intention of breaking Russian legislation, which forbids the use of cannabis for either medical or recreational purposes.
Last week, the Biden administration proposed exchanging Griner and Whelan for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been convicted of espionage and given a 16-year term in Russia. Bout is incarcerated in Illinois while serving a 25-year sentence.
Russia’s response has been restrained thus far; it claims that although there have been some bilateral discussions over the issue, no decision has yet been made.
According to an earlier CNN story, Moscow had asked for a two-for-two swap with the addition of a former colonel from Russia’s internal espionage agency. Viktor Krasikov, the colonel, was found guilty in Germany last year of killing a former Chechen warrior in a park.
“We still believe that any exchanges of information on this topic should be discrete,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in a press briefing. “Megaphone diplomacy and public exchange of positions won’t lead to a result.”
After the hearing, Griner’s attorneys stated that they were not a part of the negotiations and were unable to comment.
Elizabeth Rood, the deputy head of mission at the American embassy in Moscow, who was present in the courtroom, stated that the United States will continue to do “everything” it can to return American people.