KRASNOGORSK, Russia — A
Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from US basketball star
Brittney Griner of her nine-year prison term on drug charges, ignoring her plea
for the “traumatic” sentence to be reduced.
اضافة اعلان
The court in
Krasnogorsk near Moscow ruled to leave Griner’s August verdict “without
change”, while noting that each day the athlete had spent behind bars since her
February arrest would be counted as one-and-a-half of her term.
Griner had
earlier pleaded for the sentence to be cut at Tuesday’s hearing, which
Washington had denounced as a “sham”.
“I really hope
that the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very very
stressful and very traumatic,” Griner said by video link from her detention
center just outside the Russian capital.
The 32-year-old
was handed nine years in prison in August for possessing vape cartridges with a
small quantity of cannabis oil, after she was arrested at a Moscow airport in
February.
The case came
amid fierce tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s military
offensive in Ukraine.
Speaking slowly
so her words could be translated into Russian, Griner asked the court for
leniency given that the amount of cannabis found was “barely over the
significant amount”.
“I don’t
understand the first court’s decision to give one year less than the max when
I’ve been here almost eight months and people with more severe crimes have
gotten less than what I was given,” she said.
“So I just beg
that the court ... reassess my sentence.”
Not expecting ‘miracles’
Her lawyers had earlier said that Griner “does not expect any miracles”
but had hoped for a reduction of her term.
White House Press
Secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre earlier this month described the appeal hearing as
“another sham judicial proceeding” and said Griner should be released
immediately.
When she was arrested,
the two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and Women’s NBA champion had been
in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team, during her
off-season from the Phoenix Mercury.
She pleaded
guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the
banned substance in Russia.
Griner had
testified that she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to
relieve pain from her many injuries, and had never failed a drug test.
The use of
medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia.
In August, Moscow
said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap for Griner, but there has been no
apparent progress.
Reports have suggested
that Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Paul Whelan — a former US
marine arrested in December 2018 and convicted of spying — could be traded for
Victor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker serving 25 years in jail on a 2012
conviction.
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