Brittney Griner files appeal in Russian drug case

Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner said Monday they are appealing a Russian court’s guilty verdict in a drug smuggling case that has become a diplomatic standoff.

The appeal comes almost two weeks after Griner was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison on charges related to her February arrest at a Moscow airport.

It also comes at a time when the United States and Russia are in talks about a possible prisoner swap involving Griner and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year sentence in the United States.

US officials have also called for the release of Paul Whelan, an American citizen who has been jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges, in one such exchange.

The New York Times reported that Griner’s “legal team has said it would most likely take up to three months for the appeal to be decided, which was expected” and that “Russian officials have said all legal avenues must be exhausted before a potential appeal request is made exchange can be discussed.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late last month that the United States’ offer to release Bout in exchange for Griner and Whelan represented a “substantial proposal,” but Russian officials have so far resisted the deal.

As reported by CNN and others, Alexander Darchiev, director of the North American department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, confirmed the prisoner hearings over the weekend.

“This rather delicate issue of exchanging convicted Russian and US citizens is being discussed through the channels established by our presidents. These individuals are actually discussed. The Russian side has long been trying to secure Viktor Bout’s release. The details should be left to professionals, based on the “do no harm” principle, Darchiev told Russia’s state media TASS, as quoted by CNN.

Griner, who pleaded guilty to the drug charges but insisted she had no intention of breaking the law, was sentenced Aug. 4. The prosecution had requested a prison sentence of nine and a half years – only slightly less than the maximum sentence of 10 years. The responsible judge imposed a prison sentence of nine years.

Griner was arrested on February 17 while traveling back to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian team she has been playing for in the WNBA off-season since 2014.

Authorities at the airport found cannabis oil in their luggage, leading to a lengthy detention that has become another source of tension between the United States and Russia.

In May, the US State Department again classified Griner as “wrongfully imprisoned.”

President Joe Biden condemned Griner’s guilty verdict and sentencing earlier this month and vowed to bring her home.

“This is unacceptable and I call on Russia to release her immediately to be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates,” Biden said in a statement.

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner was sentenced to prison, which is another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongly holding Brittney,” he added.

“My administration will continue to work diligently and will do everything possible to get Brittney and Paul Whelan safely home as soon as possible,” the President continued.

At a hearing last month, Griner testified that the language interpreter provided by the Russian authorities during her questioning provided incomplete translations of what she said and that she was never given an adequate explanation of her rights.

According to The New York Times, Griner’s “defense team argued on appeal that the Khimki court ignored ‘serious procedural violations during the detention, gathering of physical evidence, arrest and investigation.'”