Brittney Griner returns to Russian court over cannabis trial

Basketball star Brittney Griner returned to a Russian courtroom on Tuesday as her trial continues for possession of cannabis when she entered the country earlier this year. Griner, a WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February after customs officers reportedly found vape cartridges totaling less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage.

Griner was escorted handcuffed into the courtroom in Khimki, the Moscow suburb where the airport is located, for the seventh hearing of the trial and placed in a cage reserved for the defendants. While incarcerated, she held up personal photographs for the sight of those present in the courtroom.

Griner has pleaded guilty and admitted to bringing the vape cartridges to Russia, although she has testified that she wasn’t sure how they ended up in her luggage. She also told the court that she had no intention of violating Russian law.

Defense team challenges evidence against Griner

During Tuesday’s hearing, Griner’s defense team questioned the analysis of the vape cartridges and questioned prosecution witness Alexander Korablyov, who examined the cartridges removed from Griner’s luggage. The defense also introduced an expert who said the analysis of the cartridges was not carried out in accordance with Russian law.

“The investigation does not comply with the law as to the completeness of the study and does not comply with the norms of the code of criminal procedure,” forensic chemist Dmitry Gladyshev said during the roughly two-hour court session, according to a report by CNN.

After the hearing, Blagovolina said the analysis was non-compliant as it did not specify the THC percentage of the cannabis oil contained in the cartridges. Another lawyer representing the basketball star, Aleksandr Boikov, said it “would be wrong to determine the exact amount” of cannabis the cartridges contained based on Korablyov’s analysis.

Griner’s defense team has also presented the court with evidence that she received a doctor’s recommendation to use medical marijuana under Arizona’s state medical cannabis program.

“There are many factors that will be considered by the court,” Blagovolina told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing, adding that Griner “admitted that she brought something, but we need to know what she brought.”

Griner’s trial resumes Thursday when attorneys are expected to make their final statements. Blagovolina said Griner is focused but nervous as the verdict approaches.

“She still knows the end is near and of course she heard the news so she hopes she could come home sometime and we hope too,” Blagovolina added.

Elizabeth Rood, chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Moscow, attended Tuesday’s hearing. Afterward, she said that the US would “continue to support Miss Griner at every step of this process and for as long as it takes to bring her safely home to the United States.”

US offers prisoner exchange

Despite her guilty plea, Griner was found unjustly detained by the US State Department. A conviction in the case could pave the way for Griner’s release in a potential prisoner swap between Russia and the United States.

Last week, President Joseph Biden’s administration announced that the US government had accepted an offer to exchange Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan, a former US Marine being held in Russia on espionage charges, in a prisoner swap for the convicted Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout has submitted .

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Russia had responded in “bad faith” to the US government’s offer. Without elaborating, she said that US officials do not consider the counter-offer from Russia to be serious. When asked about the Biden administration’s recent comments on the Russian counter-offer, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to provide details.

“Any exchange of information on this subject should be done discreetly and without ‘loudspeaker diplomacy,'” he told reporters. “Public exchange of positions will lead to no result.”

Griner is a seven-time WNBA All-Star center who has played for Phoenix Mercury since 2013, including the team’s league-winning team in 2014. She has also won the Olympic gold medal twice with the US women’s basketball team.

Griner played pro basketball in Russia for seven seasons during the winter, a common practice among WNBA players. She makes about $1 million a season playing in Russia, about four times the salary she earns playing for Phoenix.