A Russian court rejected an appeal against her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist was sentenced Aug. 4 after police said they found vapor cans containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Her arrest came at a time of rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, days before Russia sent troops to Ukraine and the politically charged case could lead to a high-risk prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow. Griner’s legal team said she left a detention center on Nov. 4 for a penal colony — a common type of Russian prison where inmates work for minimal pay. Her lawyers said Wednesday that they did not know exactly where she was or where she would end up, but that they expected to be notified when she reached her final destination. Such transfers can take days. WATCHES | Court rejects Griner’s appeal of conviction:
Russian court upheld Brittney Griner’s 9-year prison sentence on drug charges
A Russian court has upheld American basketball star Brittney Griner’s nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, rejecting her appeal. The 32-year-old star athlete, who was detained while returning to play for a Russian team during the WNBA off-season, admitted to having the canisters in her luggage. But he testified that he had accidentally collected them in a hurry and that he had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain. “Every minute Brittney Griner has to endure in illegal detention in Russia is a minute too long,” said White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre. “As we have said in the past, the US government has made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve their current unacceptable and illegal detentions of US citizens.” The Associated Press and other news organizations reported that Washington had offered to exchange Griner and Paul Whelan — an American serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia for espionage — for Viktor Bout. Bout is a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the US and once earned the nickname “the dealer of death”.
