Trial for US basketball star begins in Moscow-area court

Russian prosecutors unveiled their case in opposition to imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner Friday, as her trial on Russian drug-possession fees started some 4 months after her arrest at a Moscow airport.

Press entry was restricted, however Russian information company TASS reported that Russian prosecutors alleged Griner bought hashish oil earlier than arriving in Russia understanding that the substance was illegalin the nation.

“Being sufficiently conscious that the motion of narcotic medicine isn't allowed [in Russia] … [Griner] bought from an unidentified individual for private use two cartridges containing 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil, and in whole – 0.702 grams,” the prosecution stated.

Griner arrived within the Khimki Metropolis Courtroom, on the outskirts of Moscow, sporting a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt and sneakers with out laces.

The WNBA all-star sat within the defendant’s cage — a typical element of a Russian legal court docket — with a bag of cookies and a bottle of water.

Three US embassy officers — together with deputy chief of mission Elizabeth Rood — had been current for the proceedings.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion, was detained at Moscow airport in February on fees of carrying in her baggage vape cartridges with hashish oil, which might carry a 10-year jail sentence.

AFP by way of Getty Photos

Exterior the courthouse, an lawyer for Griner, Alexander Boykov, stated it was untimely to speak concerning the case in any element.

“I wouldn’t need to speak on the specifics of the case and on the costs and to touch upon our place on it as a result of it’s too early for it,” he instructed reporters.

Griner has been in Russian custody since February, when she was arrested at a Moscow airport for allegedly having hashish vape cartridges in her baggage. She was coming into the nation with the intention to play for a Russian crew in the course of the WNBA’s off season, as she has for the previous a number of years.

Griner instructed a Reuters reporter on Friday that she was discovering Russian jail troublesome as a result of she couldn't converse the language. She additionally stated she was having a tough time conserving her health up whereas detained.

The proceedings which are scheduled to start Friday come about 4 1/2 months after she was arrested on hashish possession fees at an airport whereas touring to play for a Russian crew.

AP

“She is a bit anxious as a result of she has the trial and the sentencing within the shut future. However she is a tricky woman. I believe that she's going to handle,” Boykov instructed a Reuters reporter.

He declined to say how Griner supposed to plead. 

Earlier this week, a Russian court docket prolonged the athlete’s detention till December.

Griner might face 10 years in jail if convicted on fees of large-scale transportation of medicine. 

Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian legal circumstances are acquitted, and in contrast to within the US, acquittals may be overturned.

Griner’s arrest got here at a time of excessive pressure between Washington and Moscow, because the Kremlin geared as much as invade Ukraine.

The US has alleged that Griner’s detention is a political ploy by Moscow, an accusation that Putin flack Dmitry Peskov rejected Friday.

“It can't be politically motivated,” Peskov instructed TASS Friday. 

“[The] info are that a well-known athlete was apprehended with forbidden compounds that contained narcotic substances. Russian laws certainly has provisions that stipulate punishment for such crimes,” he stated.

In the meantime, Russian information media have repeatedly raised hypothesis that Griner might be swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Service provider of Demise,” who's serving a 25-year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to kill US residents and offering assist to a terrorist group.

The Biden administration has turned Griner’s case over to the State Division’s Workplace of the Particular Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a crew that negotiates the discharge of People being held hostage and others categorized as being wrongfully detained in different international locations.

Requested final Sunday on CNN if the administration was contemplating a prisoner swap for Griner, Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged the query.

“As a common proposition … I've obtained no larger precedence than ensuring that People who're being illegally detained in a technique or one other world wide come residence,” he stated earlier than including, “I can’t remark in any element on what we’re doing, besides to say that is an absolute precedence.”

With Submit wires