Brittney Griner found guilty in Russian drug trial

A Russian court on Thursday found American basketball star Brittney Griner guilty of drug charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison, the culmination of a trial that has fueled tensions between Moscow and the United States.

Griner, who has been jailed since February, appeared in the courtroom earlier in the day to plead for leniency while her lawyers and prosecutors presented closing arguments.

The Russian prosecutor asked the responsible judge to sentence Griner to nine and a half years.

The guilty verdict, announced around 11 a.m. on the east coast of the United States, was widely expected and places Griner’s fate “subject to diplomatic negotiations between Russia and the United States,” according to the New York Times.

In recent days, Russian and US officials have been discussing a possible prisoner swap between Griner and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year sentence in the United States.

Last week, the Biden administration made an offer to Russia that would include the release of Bout, Griner and Paul Whelan, an American jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Russia had rejected that offer, instead favoring a deal that would secure the release of two Russian prisoners.

The New York Times reported Thursday that “officials in Moscow have said that a verdict at their trial is a necessary condition for a possible replacement” for Griner.

Griner, a star for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was traveling back to Russia on Feb. 17 to wrap up her season for UMMC Ekaterinburg — for whom she plays during the WNBA’s off-season — when authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage. She was arrested and confronted with drug offenses, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Her detention, which came just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, has become another tension in the geopolitical dispute between Moscow and the West. In May, the US State Department reclassified him as wrongly detained.

Griner pleaded guilty to the charges last month but insisted it was not her intention to break the law. In court on Thursday she again asked for leniency.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city (Yekaterinburg) for the mistake I made and the embarrassment I caused them,” Griner said, as quoted by the Associated Press, who noticed that her voice was “cracking”. “I also want to apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back home, the amazing women of the WNBA and my amazing spouse back home.”

Griner also spoke warmly about her experience playing for Yekaterinburg since 2014.

“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans and my teammates would make such a big impression on me over the 6 1/2 years I’ve been here,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “I vividly remember coming out of the gym and all the little girls waiting for me there in the stands, and that’s what kept me coming back here.”

President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to secure Griner’s release.

Last month, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, after Griner sent the president a handwritten letter.

“Sitting here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I fear that I may be here forever,” Griner said in the letter biden

“I realize you’re involved with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American inmates,” Griner continued. “Please do everything you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore it. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I’m grateful for anything you can do at this moment to bring me home.”