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Tag: Brittney Griner
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Russian court upholds Griner’s 9-year sentence
Russian court upholds Griner’s 9-year sentence – CBS News
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Russian court upholds WNBA star Brittney Griner’s 9-year prison sentence
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A Russian court on Tuesday upheld American basketball star Brittney Griner‘s nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, rejecting her appeal in a session where she appeared via video call from a penal colony outside Moscow. Griner can still appeal to a higher court, but her lawyers have yet to confirm whether they will take the case further.
In the ruling, the court stated that the time Griner will have to serve in prison will be recalculated with her time in pre-trial detention taken into account. One day in pre-trial detention will be counted as 1.5 days in prison, so the basketball star will have to serve around eight years in prison.
The decision clears the way for the WNBA star to serve that sentence in a penal colony, unless the U.S. government negotiates a deal.
The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted on August 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
“This has been very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount,” Griner told the Moscow hearing on Tuesday. “I don’t understand the first court’s decision to give one year less than the max when I’ve been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given… I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it’s been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate.”
“While their legal system is very different from ours, there is no doubt that the original sentence she received was extreme, even for the Russian legal system,” the WNBA said in a statement after Tuesday’s decision. “This appeal is further verification that BG is not just wrongfully detained – she is very clearly a hostage. Let us not be divided in this moment. Rallying around BG and all wrongfully detained Americans is the common thread of humanity that unites us without regard to ideology or political party. We must unite and support the stated public commitment of the Biden Administration and Congressional leaders to do everything possible to get her home.”
Earlier this month, Brittney’s wife, Cherelle Griner, told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King that she was terrified of the WNBA star’s fate.
“It’s like a movie for me. I’m like, ‘In no world did I ever thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife.’ And so to me, as much as everybody’s telling me a different definition of what B.G. is, it feels to me as if she’s a hostage,” Cherelle said.
“That must scare you,” King replied.
“It terrifies me because, I mean, when you watch movies, like, sometimes those situations don’t end well. Sometimes they never get the person back,” said Cherelle.Griner’s February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.
EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / REUTERS
During her trial, Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but testified that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements.
In September, U.S. President Joe Biden met with Brittney’s wife, Cherelle, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.
The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.”
The Biden administration carried out a prisoner swap in April, with Moscow releasing Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Moscow also has protested the arrest of another Russian currently in U.S. custody, Alexander Vinnik, who was accused of laundering billions of dollars via an illicit cryptocurrency exchange. Vinnik had been in custody in Greece after being arrested there in 2017 at U.S. request before being extradited to the U.S. in August. It wasn’t clear if Russia might demand Vinnik’s release as part of a potential swap.
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Russian court hears appeal by Griner against 9-year sentence
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MOSCOW — A Russian court on Tuesday started hearing American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.
Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Griner took part in the Moscow Regional Court hearing via video call from a penal colony outside Moscow where she is imprisoned.
Griner’s February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.
Griner admitted she had the canisters in her luggage but testified she inadvertently packed them in haste and had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements saying she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements.
In September, U.S. President Joe Biden met with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.
The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.”
The U.S. and Russia carried out a prisoner swap in April. Moscow released U.S. Marines veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Moscow also has pushed for the release of other Russians in U.S. custody.
One of them is Alexander Vinnik, who was accused of laundering billions of dollars through an illicit cryptocurrency exchange. Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017 and extradited to the U.S. in August.
Vinnik’s French lawyer, Frederic Belot, told Russian newspaper Izvestia last month that his client hoped to be part of a possible swap.
The newspaper speculated that another possible candidate was Roman Seleznev, the son of a Russian lawmaker. He was sentenced in 2017 to 27 years in prison on charges from a hacking and credit card fraud scheme.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Griner case: https://apnews.com/hub/brittney-griner
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Biden admin has been in touch with Russia in recent days as part of efforts to secure Griner and Whelan’s release | CNN Politics
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CNN
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The Biden administration has had communications with Russia to try and secure the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan “as recently as within past days” said a senior administration official, speaking to CNN on Griner’s 32nd birthday, which she will be spending in a Russian jail.
The United States first put an offer for a prisoner swap on the table with Russia back in June – the details of which CNN exclusively reported – and “conversations have not been static since then” the official said.
Despite the “pretty persistent” pace of discussions between the US and Russia to secure the Americans’ release, the official said that the Biden administration has yet to receive a serious counteroffer from the Russian side.
“We have worked hard to try to demonstrate the sorts of things that could well be the basis for resolving this and each time we have articulated that it’s been met not with a serious counteroffer,” the official said.
They said the Russians have countered with “something not in our control, not in our ability to deliver,” but did not go into further specifics.
“They’re not non-responsive. I would say that they continue to respond with something that they know not to be feasible or available,” the official said of the Russian response.
The official said the US has used multiple channels for discussions with the Russians and conversations have taken place both in-person, by phone, and “through other forms.” The US has dangled multiple ideas for “things that could be in play” to urge a serious response from the Russians.
As negotiations continue, Griner and Whelan both remain behind bars, with the WNBA player detained since February and the ex-Marine detained since December 2018.
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in August, and the US Embassy has not had consular access to her since then, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said last week.
Griner released a statement on her birthday Tuesday thanking “everyone for fighting so hard to get (her) home.”
“All the support and love are definitely helping me,” she said in the statement, which was shared by Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm.
The US senior administration said said that “every day is too long” for Griner to remain wrongfully detained.
“I wish you weren’t spending this birthday in Russian detention. I wish you weren’t spending the past weeks and months there,” the official said in a message to Griner.
“As far as we’re concerned, each day is too long and we will keep working this until we resolve it and get her home. Regrettably, the other side gets a vote in this. They’re the ones who created this horrific situation. They’re the ones we regrettably need to deal with to resolve it.”
Next week Griner will appeal her 9-year prison sentence. It is unclear if the passage of that court date will bolster ongoing efforts to get her home.
“To the extent that that different phases of that decidedly imperfect system pass and open the possibility on the other side of real negotiations, we would welcome that. But the most candid answer is, we don’t know,” the official said.
President Joe Biden said last week that he would consider meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 in November if he wanted to discuss Griner. When asked if there has been discussion between the US and Russia about that possible meeting on Griner the official said they would let Biden’s remarks “speak for themselves.”
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Brittney Griner’s Release Not A Priority For Russia, Putin Aide Says
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Topline
The release of Brittney Griner—the WNBA star who was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison on drug charges—is not a priority for the Kremlin despite calls from President Joe Biden to free the basketball player, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday, as the U.S. continues to advocate for her release, saying her imprisonment is unjust.
US WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside … [+]
Key Facts
Biden is “thinking first and foremost” about the upcoming midterm elections, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said during an appearance on a Russian talk show, claiming that’s why Biden is emphasizing the need to bring Griner home, according to translations from state news agency TASS.
However, Griner’s release from prison “is “not the main issue we are concerned about,” Ushakov said.
His comments come one week after Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who traveled to Russia to advocate for Griner’s release, said she and Paul Whelan—another American serving prison time in Russia—could be released by the end of the year.
Tangent
Griner has expressed skepticism that the U.S. will be able to negotiate her release, the basketball star’s lawyer has said. “She is not yet absolutely convinced that America will be able to take her home,” Alexander Boykov told The New York Times last week, saying she is “afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia.”
News Peg
On Wednesday, Biden said there had been “no movement” with Putin in regards to Griner’s release. Biden said last week he has no plans to speak with Putin at the upcoming G20 Summit in Bali, but said he would meet if Putin agreed to discuss Griner.
Key Background
Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport, where Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to drug charges in July, saying she did not intend to break Russian law and packed the cartridges in her bag by mistake. Griner was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in August. Griner’s lawyers filed an appeal against the conviction, and a hearing has been scheduled for later this month. The Biden Administration has criticized Russia for holding Griner and attempted to negotiate for Griner and Whalen’s releases as part of a prisoner swap. The White House has floated trading Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of conspiring to sell millions of dollars in weapons to the Colombian terror group FARC. Last month, Biden met with Griner and Whalen’s families at the White House. Griner’s arrest and conviction coincided with a breakdown in U.S.-Russia relations to the lowest point in decades over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Further Reading
Russia Could Release Griner And Whelan By End Of Year, Former UN Ambassador Richardson Claims (Forbes)
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Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff
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Former Gov. Bill Richardson suggests Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan may be released by end of year | CNN Politics
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CNN
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Former Gov. Bill Richardson said Sunday he is “cautiously optimistic” that two Americans wrongfully detained by Russia will be released and suggested they could be freed by the end of the year.
Richardson, a former Democratic governor of New Mexico, and his namesake center privately work on behalf of families of hostages and detainees. He recently traveled to Russia to discuss with Kremlin officials the possible release of basketball star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, and he said Sunday that he’s working with the families of both Americans and coordinating with the White House for their release.
“I do think so. Now, I hate making predictions, but yes,” Richardson told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked if he believed Griiner and Whelan may be released before the end of this year.
“I know (the families are) very emotional and this is a very emotional time. All I can say is that the Biden administration is working hard on it,” added Richardson, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration. “So am I. We coordinate, but not always agree on every tactical decision. But I’m not going to interfere in their process. I’m just giving you my assessment after two visits to Russia on behalf of American hostages.”
Griner was sentenced in August to nine years in a Russian jail after pleading guilty to drug-smuggling. The two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist had been arrested at a Moscow airport and accused by Russian prosecutors of trying to smuggle less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage – which she said she had accidentally packed while in a hurry.
Whelan was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and arrested on espionage charges, which he has consistently and vehemently denied. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.
President Joe Biden met separately with the families of Griner and Whelan at the White House last month, marking his first time personally meeting with them since their loved ones were detained in Russia.
On Sunday, Richardson characterized his meetings in Russia as being with “senior Russian officials, individuals close to President (Vladimir) Putin.”
“I am cautiously optimistic,” Richardson said of the negotiations over Griner and Whelan’s release.
“I got the sense that the Russian officials that I met with, that I’ve known over the years, are ready to talk,” he said. “I got a good sense from the Russians – the vibrations – but I’m not a government official.”
The Biden administration had previously distanced itself from Richardson’s efforts. Last month, a senior administration official told CNN that anyone “who’s going to Russia is going as a private citizen and they don’t speak for the US government.”
“I’m not part of the government, the government channel. I’ve always made that clear. I respect that. I think any decision, for instance, a release, a prisoner exchange, has to be made by the President. And I think the administration has done a good job on that,” Richardson said on Sunday.
Richardson on Sunday acknowledged the White House’s trepidation at him being involved in prisoner release negotiations, but cited his experience in past prisoner negotiations, including his role in the release of Trevor Reed from Russian custody earlier this year.
A source familiar with the situation previously told CNN that members of the Richardson Center had traveled to Moscow in February, in the days immediately before the Russian war in Ukraine began, to meet with Russian leadership. Following that visit, the Richardson Center came away with a clear sense of what the Russians were willing to do and how they were willing to do it, which was presented to the White House. Reed was freed in a prisoner swap in April.
“I’ve coordinated with the White House. I’ve coordinated as much as I can, but you know, sometimes they’re a little nervous about my doing this on my own,” he said.
“But at the same time, we’ve had success recently with Trevor Reed, the American hostage in Russia some months ago. Danny Fenster, a journalist in Myanmar at the end of last year,” Richardson added. “So, I know what I’m doing.”
Earlier this month, Biden announced the return of seven Americans who had been detained in Venezuela. The detainees were released in exchange for the release of two Venezuelans imprisoned in the US for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the country, both nephews of the Venezuelan first lady.
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Brittney Griner’s wife on WNBA star’s detention in Russia
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Brittney Griner’s wife on WNBA star’s detention in Russia – CBS News
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Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence will be held Oct. 25, Russian court says
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A Russian court on Monday set Oct. 25 as the date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.
Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
The Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal.
Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but testified that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
Her February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” – a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements.
U.S. President Joe Biden met last month with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.
The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.”
The Biden administration carried out a prisoner swap in April, with Moscow releasing Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
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Russian court sets Brittney Griner appeal date for Oct. 25
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MOSCOW — A Russian court on Monday set Oct. 25 as the date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.
Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
The Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal.
Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but testified that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
Her February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements.
U.S. President Joe Biden met last month with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.
The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.”
The Biden administration carried out a prisoner swap in April, with Moscow releasing Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
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Brittney Griner writing memoir on Russian detainment | CNN Politics
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Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was freed from Russia late last year after being wrongfully detained, is writing a memoir due out next spring.
“After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world,” Griner said in a news release Tuesday from publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
The two-time Olympic gold-medalist spent nearly 300 days in Russian custody after being detained in February 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison under drug-smuggling charges after authorities in the country found cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner, who the US State Department deemed wrongfully detained, was released last December in a prisoner swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner had for years played on a Russian women’s basketball team during the WNBA off-season and was detained in a Moscow airport as she traveled to rejoin the team.
“That day was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” she said in the news release. “The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud.”
Her detainment spotlighted the salary caps WNBA players face in the US – which has pushed athletes to go overseas to earn more during their off-seasons.
She will make her return to the WNBA next season after signing a one-year deal in February with the Phoenix Mercury.
The book announcement comes after Russian authorities last month detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who the US State Department deemed wrongfully detained on Monday. Detained American Paul Whelan has also been held in Russian custody since 2018.
“By writing this book, I also hope to raise awareness surrounding other Americans wrongfully detained abroad,” Griner said.
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