A Russian appeals court is due on Tuesday to hear the case of WNBA star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years in prison in what the United States has called a wrongful detention.
Griner, 32, “is quite pessimistic about the outcome” of the appeal, one of her attorneys, Maria Blagovolina, said Monday on MSNBC.
“She hopes there will be some reduction, but not that the verdict will be overruled,” Blagovolina said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was sentenced in August to nine years in prison on drug charges.
She was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, after Russian authorities said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.
Griner pleaded guilty in July but said that it was an accident, that she had brought them to Russia unintentionally and that she had packed hurriedly for a flight. Medical cannabis is illegal in Russia, but it is legal in most of the U.S.
Griner lawyer: WNBA star 'pessimistic' about appeal trial, but hoping for sentence reduction
Oct. 24, 202205:36United States officials say Griner is being wrongfully detained. State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday called the judicial proceedings “largely shambolic.”
“Wrongful detainees are by definition wrongfully held. They are used as political pawns, as leverage,” Price said. “It is our goal to see them home as soon as we can.”
Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, has said that Brittney Griner is being held hostage.
The U.S. has proposed a prisoner exchange with Russia for the release of Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, who is a corporate executive detained there since 2018, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The deal would include the U.S. releasing imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the sources have said.
When she was detained, Griner had been in Russia to play for a Russian Premier League women’s team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she had since 2014.
Lawyers for Griner filed an appeal in August, after she was sentenced.
In April, Russia released American Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing Russian drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Reed, a former Marine, had been sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia in 2020, after authorities there said he assaulted a Russian police officer after a night of drinking. Reed and his family have maintained his innocence.
A Russian appeals court is due on Tuesday to hear the case of WNBA star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years in prison in what the United States has called a wrongful detention.
Griner, 32, “is quite pessimistic about the outcome” of the appeal, one of her attorneys, Maria Blagovolina, said Monday on MSNBC.
“She hopes there will be some reduction, but not that the verdict will be overruled,” Blagovolina said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was sentenced in August to nine years in prison on drug charges.
She was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, after Russian authorities said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.
Griner pleaded guilty in July but said that it was an accident, that she had brought them to Russia unintentionally and that she had packed hurriedly for a flight. Medical cannabis is illegal in Russia, but it is legal in most of the U.S.
Griner lawyer: WNBA star 'pessimistic' about appeal trial, but hoping for sentence reduction
Oct. 24, 202205:36United States officials say Griner is being wrongfully detained. State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday called the judicial proceedings “largely shambolic.”
“Wrongful detainees are by definition wrongfully held. They are used as political pawns, as leverage,” Price said. “It is our goal to see them home as soon as we can.”
Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, has said that Brittney Griner is being held hostage.
The U.S. has proposed a prisoner exchange with Russia for the release of Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, who is a corporate executive detained there since 2018, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The deal would include the U.S. releasing imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the sources have said.
When she was detained, Griner had been in Russia to play for a Russian Premier League women’s team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she had since 2014.
Lawyers for Griner filed an appeal in August, after she was sentenced.
In April, Russia released American Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing Russian drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Reed, a former Marine, had been sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia in 2020, after authorities there said he assaulted a Russian police officer after a night of drinking. Reed and his family have maintained his innocence.