After a Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for a drug-trafficking conviction, her legal team appealed the decision.
This August 15, Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, declared to NBCnews that the basketball star’s defense team filed the appeal in a statement through the Telegram messaging application.
According to Blagovolina, the move comes on the heels of news that Russia and the United States will discuss a prisoner swap that would guarantee the 31-year-old’s release.
On August 4, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined one million rubles (approximately $16,500) for smuggling and knowing possession of drugs.
The sentence handed down by the Russian court came more than four months after Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport for allegedly possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
During her second hearing, at the beginning of July, the athlete pleaded guilty to all charges. However, she told the court that she had not acted deliberately.
In addition, during the trial, Griner’s defense team argued that the basketball player used cannabis for medicinal purposes, even her lawyers presented to the court a letter from a doctor recommending the athlete to use medicinal cannabis in the US to treat the pain, although it was not a sufficient argument to persuade the judge.
Following the sentencing, Griner’s attorneys called the ruling “unreasonable.” A day after the basketball star’s conviction, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the country was “ready to discuss” a US prisoner swap proposal.
For its part, the country led by Joe Biden offered a deal with the aim of bringing home Brittney Griner and American Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Source: Okchicas
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
