Brittney Griner Convicted in Russia for Drug Smuggling, Possession Charges; Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison
WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted in Russia in connection with the drug possession charges she faced in the country. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles, approximately $16,000.
Last month, Griner pled guilty to possessing an illegal substance in Russia when customs officials found 0.7 grams of cannabis oil in the vape cartridges she had in her luggage. Griner has been detained in Russia since February, and on Thursday, she appeared before Russian court to give her closing arguments, where she also offered a series of apologies, asked for leniency, and declared that she never intended to break Russian law.
Griner’s prison sentence comes close to the 9 1/2 year maximum sentence Russian prosecutors sought for her, and the Russian court rejected Griner’s argument by determining she acted with criminal intent. Jonathan Frank, a spokesman for the family of former Russian detainee, Trevor Reed, blasted the “asinine” court proceeding as he expected the worst for Griner.
“That is asinine and further proof of what Trevor Reed has said — ‘There is no justice in Russia,'” Franks said. “Expect 9 ish years, and I’d be thrilled to be wrong.”
🚨A Russian judge has, unsurprisingly, found #BrittneyGriner guilty, & also found she committed the crime “deliberately.”
That is asinine and further proof of what @trevorrowdyreed has said – “there is no justice in Russia.”
Expect 9 ish years, and I’d be thrilled to be wrong.
— Jonathan Franks (@jonfranks) August 4, 2022
UPDATE – 1:00 a.m. ET: The WNBA also released a statement condemning Griner’s “unjustified” sentence:
WNBA and @NBA statement regarding Brittney Griner ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jlQlVS3ZtL
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 4, 2022
Watch above, via CNN and MSNBC.
