Brittney Griner, a prominent player for the WNBA, has admitted guilt to drug charges and could potentially spend up to 10 years in a Russian jail.
Griner, a 6-foot-9 center, was carried into the courthouse on Thursday for his hearing while wearing handcuffs and a red t-shirt and matching red leggings.
In addition, she was observed holding a water bottle and a printed picture of her wife, Cherelle Griner.
Please accept my guilty plea, your honor. But no intention was present.
According to a Reuters reporter in the courtroom, Griner said, “I didn’t intend to break the law.
I spoke English, which was translated into Russian for the court.”
Later, I’d like to provide my testimony. She said, “I need time to get ready.
Griner was detained in February after it was claimed that she was found in possession of two vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil at a Moscow airport. Since then, she has been detained.
Four and a half months after her detention on suspicion of carrying cannabis oil, she began her trial on July 1.
Because she plays overseas during the offseason, like many WNBA players, the All-Star was traveling in Russia. In Griner’s case, she competes for UMMC Ekaterinburg, which is located on the eastern fringe of Europe.
The United States believes that Griner was unjustly jailed, and her guilty plea may have been more of a legal ploy than a sincere acknowledgment of guilt.
According to William Pomeranz, a Russian law expert, there is little likelihood for criminals to be exonerated at criminal trials in the nation.
In reality, less than 1% of defendants in criminal cases in Russia are found not guilty, and unlike in American courts, acquittals are subject to review.
According to Pomeranz, Griner had a higher chance of pleading guilty in order to have her sentence reduced because the trial is “a foregone conclusion.”
According to Pomeranz, “the best defense is typically to accept your guilt and hope you get a shorter punishment.”
“There aren’t many examples of people putting up good defenses and winning their cases,” said the speaker.
Additionally, experts told ESPN that if she maintained her innocence, the authorities might retaliate against her by making her existence in a Russian prison even more unpleasant than it already is.
With Griner’s supporters advocating a prisoner swap similar to the one that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in April for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy, there has been increasing pressure on the Biden administration to obtain her release.
However, a Russian official urged on Thursday that Washington keep quiet about Griner’s whereabouts because exchanging inmates with the US is challenging.
Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister of Russia, urged the US to stop communicating with the basketball player who was just on trial in Russia, claiming that the “hype” surrounding the case does not help.
In the meantime, Reverend Al Sharpton has committed to traveling to the nation in Eastern Europe to meet with Griner while he is imprisoned for a “clergy visit.”
In an interview with MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell, Sharpton stated, “It’s our aim to go to Russia and seek a clergy visit.”
“Anyone can get visits from the clergy in any civilized globe or nation.”
He said that Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, had struggled to get the WNBA player on the phone.
Sharpton stated, “We cannot sit by and overlook the reality that she has been marginalized and we cannot explain why. We need to go face to face to see that she is okay.
” We want to make sure she is safe, and we want to ensure that the American government gives her first attention.
Griner begged Biden in a letter she sent him last week for assistance in securing her release.
Griner added in the letter, “I’m frightened I might stay here forever.
As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the safety of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments.
Griner wrote, “I know you have a lot on your plate, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees.”
“Please try your best to get us home. In 2020, I cast my first ballot, and I chose to support you.
I have faith in you.
You can still help me regain my freedom since I still have a lot of good to do.
I long for my wife! I long for my family! My teammates are missed!
Knowing that they are currently going through such pain hurts me.
I appreciate anything you can do right now to get me home.
After calling Cherelle, her wife, to “reassure her” that they are attempting to secure her release, Vice President Kamala Harris and Biden wrote her a letter.
According to a statement from the White House, “The President contacted Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to ensure Brittney’s release as quickly as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other US citizens who are wrongly jailed or held hostage in Russia and around the world.”
Since Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, was taken into custody at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in February, the first trial session, which was postponed until July 7, provided the most extensive public interaction between Griner and reporters.
She was caught at the airport with vape canisters containing cannabis oil, according to the police.
Griner stated in court that she was aware of the accusations made against her, according to the state-run Tass news agency. Griner said,
“At this time, no, your honor,” in response to the judge’s question about whether she wanted to enter a plea.
According to Mediazona, an independent news source renowned for its thorough coverage of prominent court cases, “at a later time.”
According to the state news source RIA-Novosti, the prosecution questioned two witnesses: an airport customs official who testified in open court and an unnamed witness in a private interview.
Then, it claimed, the trial was postponed when two further witnesses failed to appear.
Outside of court, Griner’s attorney Alexander Boykov stated that it was too early to comment “on the specifics of the case and on the charges.”
She has been exercising and taking walks in the confinement area, Boykov reportedly said to RIA-Novosti.
According to the Russian website Business FM, Griner, who occasionally grinned at reporters, said she wished she could exercise more but that she was having difficulty because she doesn’t speak Russian.
She played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia in addition to the WNBA’s Mercury.
The deputy head of mission at the American embassy in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, claimed to have spoken with Griner while she was in court and that he was “doing as well as can be expected in these trying circumstances.”
Brittney Griner has been wrongfully arrested by the Russian Federation, according to Rood.
“Wrongful detention is an intolerable practice everywhere it occurs and endangers the safety of everyone working, residing, and traveling abroad.”
The American government, according to her, “is working tirelessly to get Brittney and all wrongfully incarcerated Americans home safely,” she stated.
During a preliminary hearing held behind closed doors last week, Griner’s custody was increased by six months, to December 20.
Her case arises at a particularly bad period in ties between Moscow and Washington.
Less than a week after her detention, Russia sent troops into Ukraine, escalating already high tensions between the two nations.
After that, the U.S. placed severe penalties on Moscow, and Russia accused the U.S. of arming Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, refuted claims that Griner’s arrest and trial were influenced by politics on Friday.
Peskov informed reporters, “The facts are that the famous athlete was caught in possession of illegal medication containing narcotic chemicals.
“He continued, “Given what I’ve said, it can’t be politically driven.”
A prisoner swap like the one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy has been supported by Griner’s supporters.
Russian news outlets have frequently suggested that she would be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, sometimes known as “the Merchant of Death,” who is currently serving a 25-year term for conspiring to kill Americans and aiding a terrorist organization.
For years, Russia has pushed for Bout’s release.
However, given the stark contrast between Bout’s international sales of lethal weapons and Griner’s suspected possession of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, the U.S. may find such a trade intolerable.
Others have proposed trading her for Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director currently serving a 16-year term for an espionage conviction that the United States has frequently referred to be a setup.