KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — An emotional Brittney Greiner apologized in a Russian court Thursday as her drug possession trial drew to a close Thursday and a prosecutor pushed for the U.S. basketball star to be convicted and sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison in a case , which reached the highest levels of US and Russian diplomacy.
With a judge due for an unusually quick verdict later in the day and a guilty verdict all but certain, Greener made a final appeal to the court. She said she had no intention of breaking the law by carrying cannabis oil vape cartridges when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in the city of Yekaterinburg.
“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Ekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the inconvenience that I caused them,” Griner said, his voice shaking. “I also want to apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization at home, the amazing women of the WNBA and my amazing husband at home.”
Under Russian law, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. but judges have considerable discretion in sentencing.
If she is not released, attention will turn to the high possibility of a prisoner swap that was offered last week by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to his Russian counterpart.
She said she had made an “honest mistake”, adding: “I hope your decision doesn’t end my life.”
Griner said Yekaterinburg, a city east of the Ural Mountains, had become her “second home.”
“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such an impression on me in the six and a half years I’ve been here,” she said. “I remember coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting for me and that kept me coming back here.”
Attorneys for the Phoenix Mercury Center and the two-time Olympic gold medalist have pursued strategies to support Greener’s contention that she had no criminal intent and that the boxes ended up in her luggage due to hasty packing. They have presented character witnesses from the Russian team she plays for in the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a doctor who said he prescribed cannabis for her pain.
Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, argued that Griner brought the cartridges with her to Russia inadvertently and only used cannabis to treat her pain from injuries sustained in her career. She said she only used it in Arizona, where the medical marijuana is legal.
She emphasized that Griner was packing hastily after a grueling flight and suffering from the effects of COVID-19. Blagovolina also pointed out that the analysis of the cannabis found on Griner was flawed and in violation of legal procedures.
Blagovolina asked the court to acquit Griner, noting that she has no criminal record and hailing her role in the “development of Russian basketball.”
Another defenseman, Alexander Boykov, also highlighted Griner’s role in leading her team from Yekaterinburg to multiple championships, noting that she is loved and admired by her teammates.
He told the judge that the sentence would undermine Russia’s efforts to develop national sports and make Moscow’s call to depoliticize sports sound shallow.
Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner won the sympathy of both guards and inmates, who supported her with shouts of “Britney, everything will be fine!” when she went for a walk in the prison.
Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner had deliberately packaged the cannabis oil and asked the court to fine Briner 1 million rubles (about $16,700) in addition to the prison sentence.
If she is not released, attention will turn to the high possibility of a prisoner exchange.
Before her trial began in July, the State Department designated her as “unlawfully detained,” moving her case under the supervision of its Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.
Then last week, in an extraordinary move, Blinken spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal that would see Griner and Paul Whelan, an American jailed in Russia on espionage charges, released.
The conversation between Lavrov and Blinken marked the most high-level contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than five months ago. Direct outreach against Greener is at odds with US efforts to isolate the Kremlin.
People familiar with the proposal said it called for Greiner and Whelan to be swapped for notorious arms dealer Victor Booth, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States. It underscores the public pressure the White House is facing to release Greener.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Russia had made a “malicious” response to the U.S. government’s offer, a counteroffer that U.S. officials did not consider serious. She declined to elaborate.
Russian officials scoffed at the US statements on the case, saying they showed disrespect for Russian law. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to discuss the matter through “quiet diplomacy without releasing speculative information.”
Add Comment