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Russia sentences US basketball player Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison

BarcelonaA Russian court sentenced American basketball player Brittney Griner, arrested last February in Russia for drug possession, to nine years in prison this Thursday. Griner, 31, winner of two Olympic golds, was found guilty in July of carrying cannabis oil cartridges in her luggage. The sentence, which comes in addition to a fine of one million rubles (about 16,000 euros), ends a trial that had turned into a diplomatic confrontation between Russia and the United States in the middle of the war in Ukraine.

The player of UMMC Ekaterinburg, of the Russian first division and property of the Phoenix Mercury since 2013, had been offered by Russia in a prisoner exchange with the United States, from where they claim that she was wrongfully detained in the Sheremetyevo International Airport (Moscow). The American president, Joe Biden, has described the sentence as unacceptable once it has been made public, and has assured that the White House will do everything possible to “bring it home”. “The sentence is yet another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is unjustly detaining Brittney. I call on Russia to release her immediately,” Biden said. For their part, the lawyers have reiterated that they will appeal the sentence.

Griner, who the prosecutor asked for nine years and six months in prison, has been in Russia since the war began and the player’s only hope to leave the country is now a diplomatic agreement that facilitates her repatriation and release. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that he would seek to discuss with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a prisoner exchange between the player and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Although no agreement has yet been reached, the deal would also include theexmarine Paul Whelan, another American prisoner (the first convicted of espionage in Russia since the fall of the USSR), who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. “My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue all possible ways for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan to return home safe and sound as soon as possible,” Biden said.

In her plea to the court, the former WNBA player stated that, despite pleading guilty, she had no intention of breaking the law. “I want the court to understand that it was an innocent mistake that I made while I was stressed trying to recover from covid and trying to get back to my team,” Griner said.

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