A verdict has finally been doled out to Brittney Griner as a Russian court sentenced her to nine years in prison.
The court found Griner guilty of cannabis possession and smuggling, despite her claims that she made an honest mistake, and her crying pleas for mercy.
Standing in a small jail like cage reserved for defendants at the Khimki court outside Moscow, Griner remained stone-faced upon hearing the verdict.
When given a chance to speak during Thursday’s hearing, Griner, 31, with her voice quivering, admitted that she made a mistake and pleaded for leniency.
“I want the court to understand that this was an honest mistake that I made while rushing, under stress, trying to recover from COVID and just trying to get back to my team,” Griner said, referring to her packing vape cartridges in her luggage on her way to Russia in February.
“I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that is far from this courtroom,” she continued. “I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling, that it doesn’t end my life here.”
A few minutes after the verdict was read, the White House released a statement on behalf of President Biden, condemning Griner’s sentencing.
“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” the statement read. “It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.”
Biden promised to work tirelessly and to take every avenue at his disposal to bring Griner and American Paul Whelan safely back to the U.S..
Whelan, who is also jailed in Russia on an espionage conviction, is awaiting rescue from Biden to return home.
Griner, who pleaded guilty to the charges, said she did not intend to break Russian law, and that her parents had taught her to take ownership of her errors.
Earlier in the trial, Griner testified that she inadvertently placed cannabis cartridges into her bag while “stress-packing” for her trip to Russia, where she was contracted to play basketball for a local team during WNBA’s off-season.
Griner insisted that she never intended to bring the vape cartridges containing 0.7 grams of cannabis oil to Russia, or use them there, because she was aware of local drug laws.
Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury center have presented character witnesses from the Russian team and written testimony from a doctor who said he prescribed her cannabis for pain treatment.
Defense attorney Maria Blagovolina claimed that Griner brought the cartridges with her to Russia inadvertently and only used cannabis as medicine and only while in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal.
A prosecutor, Nikolai Vlasenko, argued that Griner packed the cannabis oil deliberately.
Although a conviction appeared almost certain, given that Russian courts rarely acquit defendants and Griner had acknowledged having vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage, judges have considerable latitude on sentencing.
Before Griner’s trial began in July, the State Department designated her as “wrongfully 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, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal under which Griner and Whelan would be traded for Viktor Bout, a jailed arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Russia has made a “bad faith” response to the US government’s offer, a counteroffer that American officials don’t regard as serious. She declined to elaborate.
Russian officials have scoffed at US statements about the case, saying they’ve shown disrespect for Russian law. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to discuss the issue through “quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information.”
Go Putin go,,,, you are the man,,,, anyone who Fks with them on their turf will regret it..