A Russian court today sentenced American basketball star Brittney Greiner to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling.
Russian prosecutors had sought 9.5 years in prison for Greiner after she pleaded guilty to bringing cannabis-infused vapor cartridges into Russia.
In its ruling, the court said Greiner had committed the offense “intentionally”, despite what she had said was an “honest mistake”.
“I never intended to harm anyone,” Greiner said in her apology. “I never intended to endanger the Russian population. I never intended to break any law here.”
Her lawyers have previously stated that she uses cannabis solely for medical purposes and that she has never used while in Russia.
Last month, Greiner pleaded guilty to the charges, saying she had inadvertently included the cannabis cartridges in her suitcase because she was in a hurry.
The court ruling comes a week after the US government confirmed it had made an offer to Moscow to release Greiner and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
“We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago,” Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken told reporters last week.
The US foreign minister had also said he would discuss the offer with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, in what would be the first confirmed conversation between the two since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For his part, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House that “we have made a proposal and we are urging the Russians to move positively on it so that we can bring these two individuals home.”
“The details, I think, are best left between us and our Russian counterparts,” Kirby had said.
Source: Capital
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