Brittney Griner Bio – Brittney Griner Wiki
Brittney Griner is set to appeal her verdict in a Russian court Tuesday, nearly three months after the US basketball star was convicted of smuggling drugs into the country and sentenced to nine years in prison.
AGE:
Brittney Griner is 32 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
Griner’s appeal will be considered in the Moscow Regional Court in a hearing at which her attorneys are expected to argue the verdict was unfair and unjustified under Russian law, and they told CNN. Griner, 32, will attend the hearing via video conference from her detention center.
The outcome of the appeal is expected the same day as the hearing, according to the lawyers, Alexander Boykov of the Moscow Legal Center and Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin, and Partners law firm. The court hearing the appeal can choose to leave Griner’s verdict in place, overrule it and send it back to the lower court, or reduce Griner’s prison term, they said.
If the Khimki city court’s decision is upheld, the “legal process will be basically over,” Boykov said. In the meantime, Griner, a two-time US Olympic gold medalist, is concerned she will have to serve out the remainder of her sentence in Russia if her appeal is unsuccessful and if the United States and Russia can’t strike a deal for a prisoner swap, he said.
Both attorneys have indicated they felt Griner’s nine-year sentence was extreme, with Blagovolina calling it “very severe for this type of crime and this amount of this substance.”
The US State Department has maintained that Griner is wrongfully detained, and her case has prompted concern that she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Biden administration recently communicated with Russia to try to secure the release of Griner and imprisoned American Paul Whelan, a senior administration official told CNN last week.
Griner was initially taken into custody at a Moscow airport on February 17 – days before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – when authorities accused her of trying to smuggle less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner plays in Russia during the WNBA’s offseason.
The All-Star center for the Phoenix Mercury pleaded guilty to drug charges, telling the court during her trial that vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were in her luggage because she had packed her bags in a hurry.
“Brittney is a very strong person and has a champion’s character,” Blagovolina and Boykov told CNN in a written statement ahead of Griner’s appeal. “However, she of course has her highs and lows as she is severely stressed being separated from her loved ones for over eight months.”
“She is very nervous waiting for the appeal hearing,” they added. “Brittney does not expect any miracles to happen but hopes that the appeal court will hear the arguments of the defense and reduce the term.”
While Griner’s case plays out, US officials have separately proposed a potential prisoner swap with Russia, offering to exchange convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan, an American citizen held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018. Whelan, who has consistently denied the charges, was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison.
Despite the “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 severe counteroffer from the Russian side.
“They’re not nonresponsive. 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.
Meanwhile, Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and their supporters have continued to highlight her case and maintain support and pressure to ensure she’s brought home, starting a #WeAreBG campaign on social media. After months of pushing, Cherelle Griner met last month with Biden, telling CNN the meeting illustrated the administration’s commitment to bringing her wife home.
As for Griner, she turned 32 last week, celebrating her birthday in a cell in the suburbs of Moscow, her atto