A Russian Court Has Rejected Brittney Griner's Appeal of a 9-Year Sentence

On Tuesday, a Russian court upheld a nine-year-long sentencing handed to basketball star Brittney Griner, rejecting her appeal. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time WNBA All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury was convicted of drug possession back in August after Russian police reported that they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. If a deal (which would likely involve a prisoner exchange) can’t be worked out between the U.S. and Russia, Griner will have to serve nine years in a penal colony outside Moscow.

“We are very disappointed,” Brittney Griner’s attorneys said in a statement to the The New York Times after the ruling. “The verdict contains numerous defects and we hoped that the court of appeal would take them into consideration.” Griner testified that she had no criminal intent and argued that she was prescribed medicinal cannabis oil to treat pain. Her attorneys even presented written statements from her doctors that corroborated her claims. Griner’s nine-year sentence is incredibly close to the 10-year maximum in Moscow for drug possession, which her lawyers argued was excessive.

The basketball star was originally in Moscow during the WNBA off-season to play internationally for the Russian Premier League. Her detention highlighted how little WNBA stars are paid to compete in the U.S., and why many athletes travel overseas to play for deep-pocketed teams such as Moscow’s UMMC Ekaterinburg. Griner’s arrest also coincided with a period of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia—her imprisonment beginning just days before Russia sent troops to invade Ukraine.

According to AP News, the U.S. has offered to exchange Griner and Paul Whelan—an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage—for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. Russia has reportedly been non-committal on working out a prisoner exchange. Russia has also rejected the U.S. Government’s claim that Griner was wrongfully detained. After meeting with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, President Joe Biden stated his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.'”

Cherelle Griner was able to speak to Brittney earlier this month, through what she told CBS was “the most disturbing phone call I’d ever experienced.” The WNBA star is worried about being abandoned in Moscow, where the nation is seemingly adamant that she serves her near-maximum sentencing. At last week’s NBA championship ring presentation, the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry shouted out Brittney Griner on what was her 32nd birthday. “We want to continue to let her name be known,” he said, “and we pray.”

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