WNBA star found guilty of smuggling drugs into Russia; Biden rips verdict
WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison, a Moscow court ruled Thursday.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and All-Star player for the Phoenix Suns was also fined 1 million rubles — $16,590. Her sentence comes after a tense trial held as relations between the U.S. and Russia have soured over the Ukraine war and sets up a possible prisoner swap.
President Biden denounced the verdict and sentence, dubbing them “unacceptable.”
“I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates,” Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring her home.
Griner has been behind bars overseas ever since her arrest more than five months ago at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where customs officials said they discovered vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She was accused of intentionally smuggling drugs into the country, where marijuana use is illegal for both medicinal and recreational purposes.
Griner pleaded guilty in July to possessing the substance but has also maintained that she did not mean to break the law, telling authorities that she mistakenly put the cannisters in her suitcase as she rushed to pack for her return to Russia, where she plays for the UMMC Ekaterinburg team during the WNBA’s offseason.
“I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling, it doesn’t end my life here,” she said in court.
Judge Anna Sotnikova concluded she committed the crime deliberately and ignored her requests for leniency, handing Griner a punishment just one year less than the maximum sentence possible. The 31-year-old athlete stared blankly upon hearing the verdict, a stark contrast to the emotional apology she delivered in the Moscow-area courtroom hours earlier.
“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of [Yekaterinburg] for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” she said.
“I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”
The U.S. State Department has long maintained Griner was wrongfully detained and alleged that she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Her arrest came just days after President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.
Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko earlier on Thursday requested the judge sentence Griner to nine years and six months in prison, arguing that she intentionally included the cannabis oil in her luggage.
The defense contended however that the prosecution failed to prove criminal intent. One of her lawyers, Maria Blagovolin, also noted during the weeks-long trial that Griner was prescribed medical cannabis two years ago to treat severe chronic pain and presented a doctor’s note in court as proof. Blagovolin last month also provided a series of tests the American athlete received as part of an anti-doping check, none of which turned up any banned substances in her system.
Griner’s legal team similarly bashed the verdict as “absolutely unreasonable,” adding that the court “completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea.” They vowed to file an appeal, though her freedom could also come through a prisoner exchange between the two nations. Russian officials previously said they would await the verdict in Griner’s trial before taking up any official negotiations.
During a meeting last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to accept a deal involving Griner and former security consultant Paul Whelan, an American who is serving a 16-year prison term in Russia. He was convicted of spying in 2020 but has since said he was framed.
The potential trade in turn would likely see the U.S. release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested in a U.S. sting operation in Thailand in 2008.