Brittney Griner, two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA All-Star who is imprisoned in Russia, is living her worst nightmare.
Griner was arrested in February 2021 after customs agents at a Moscow airport found cannabis oil and vaping canisters in her suitcase. She was tried and found guilty in a Russian court, and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony. The recent appeal of that decision has failed.
Turning around Russian court legal decisions is said to be close to impossible, and now the only hope for Griner is a prisoner swap, which the US State Department and Russian officials have been discussing for a long time now and the communications appear to be stagnating.
Alexander Boykov, one of Griner’s lawyers, is hoping for a successful outcome.
The 32-year-old basketball star pleaded guilty to her charges in a Russian court last July.
Although legal in most US states for medical uses, cannabis is illegal in Russia. Griner had a prescription for the drug due to chronic pain, her defense team said.
Brittany’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said that Brittany will have a hard time coping in prison so far away from home and family. Griner, despite the stress and trauma, had hoped for a better outcome before the results of the appeal were out. “People with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given,” she shared.
American national security adviser Jake Sullivan declared that Griner was being held under “intolerable circumstances” and that she was a victim of a “sham judicial proceeding,” criticizing the severe Russian judicial system.
President Biden said that despite the lack of positive replies so far, they are communicating with Russian authorities to address the issue and hope to do a swap of prisoners to secure Griner’s release.
In ongoing discussions, the US State Department has reportedly offered to swap Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for the return of Griner and another American held in Russia, Paul Whelan.
Because of the tensions between the US and Russia, and the war in Ukraine, Russia appears to have the upper hand and Griner has been caught in the middle.