The return of Brittney Griner on American soil does not seem to be for quite a while. On Monday, the court of Khimki, in the suburbs of Moscow, extended the detention of the basketball player for another six months after his appearance at a preliminary hearing which was held behind closed doors. She had previously been sentenced to remain in pre-trial detention until July 2. The start date for his trial has been set for July 1.
The WNBA star was arrested at an airport in Russia on Feb. 17 after being charged with carrying cartons of cigarettes containing hash oil, which is illegal in Russia. Since then, the Russian authorities have repeatedly extended his pre-trial detention. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.
AP reports that Russian media have repeatedly speculated that she could be traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “the dealer of death”, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiracy in with a view to killing American citizens and aiding a terrorist organization.
« Generally speaking, I have no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are illegally detained in one way or another around the world get home. But I can’t comment in detail on what we’re doing except to say it’s a top priority “commented US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, interviewed on CNN on Sunday, to find out if an exchange of prisoners was envisaged.
