On August 4, the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region sentenced American basketball player Brittney Griner to nine years in prison and a one million ruble fine in the drug trafficking case. The athlete was detained at the courthouse.
Greiner, who was detained while passing through customs control on March 5, reacted to the athlete’s belongings containing poppy oil, which is banned in Russia. Criminal cases were opened for two items, smuggling and possession of drugs.
Greiner fully admitted his guilt, stating that he did not intend to break the law.
Representatives of the basketball player stated in their speech that the examination of the article was not in accordance with Russian laws. As proof of their position, Griner’s lawyers cited the review of a chemical sciences candidate who was questioned in court.
The prosecution insisted on a heavier sentence for the American.
“With partial addition, I finally ask you to sentence you to nine years and six months in prison with a fine of 1 million rubles in the colony of the general regime,” said the prosecutor.
Speaking in court, the basketball player said that he did not want to be part of a political game.
“I never had any intention of violating Russian law. I want to apologize to my fans for my mistake. I would also like to apologize to my wife and mother and father. I didn’t want to hurt anyone for a second. I know everyone says I’m a political pawn. But I want politics to stay out,” the American said.
Before the announcement of the decision, Greiner expressed words of support for the Olympic medalist in basketball as part of the Russian national team Becky Hammon:
“Obviously, this is very close to me, so I ask the Russian government to do the right thing. It’s never too late to do the right thing. We want tolerance, we want mercy, and we want Brittney Griner to come home. I think Mr. Putin is a huge sports fan and puts all these athletes at risk – I think that would be very sad,” Hammon told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden called the Khimki court’s decision unacceptable.
“Today, US citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence, reminding us that the world already knew that Russia was holding Brittney wrongfully. This is unacceptable and I urge Russia to immediately release him so that he can return to his wife, loved ones, friends and teammates.
“The administration will continue to work tirelessly and will use every means possible to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safe and sound as soon as possible,” Biden said in a statement posted on the White House’s official website.
Commenting on Brittney Greiner’s decision, lawyer Igor Bushmanov said it was no accident that the court sentenced the basketball player to nine years in prison.
“Criminal policy on drug trafficking is pretty strict regardless of their personality. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
In practice, the court usually agrees with the prosecutor’s position or imposes a slightly lesser sentence. Also, considering that Viktor Bout, who is known to have been bartered with two US citizens, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in Russia, Griner’s nine-year sentence would be one such sentence. barter in digital terms is actually equivalent, this is important,” Bushmanov told Sport-Express.
There is a period of 10 days to appeal against the decision of the court of first instance.