Brittney Griner’s drug smuggling conviction is upheld by a Russian court.
A Russian judge upheld Brittney Griner’s conviction on drug smuggling charges on Tuesday and only marginally reduced her nine-year prison term. The judge left the verdict in place.
The judge decided to modify Griner’s sentence to include the time she spent in pretrial detention following her arrest on February 17 at a Moscow airport, with each day in pretrial custody counted as 1.5 days toward her prison sentence. It wasn’t immediately obvious how much the sentence would be lengthened by it.
The judgement was reached following a hearing on an appeal held on Tuesday. Griner, who the US believes was illegally jailed, again expressed her regret while pleading with the court for a lighter term, stating that the verdict was unfair and unwarranted under Russian law. The counsel urged the court to acquit her, claiming that Griner’s sentence was excessive and that the previous court’s finding that Griner had criminal intent was incorrect.
When Griner, who was detained at Correctional Colony No. 1 in Novoye Grishino, north of Moscow, spoke at the court on Tuesday via video link from her detention facility, she said, “I’ve been here over eight months, and people with more severe crimes have been given less than what I was given.”
By suggesting a prisoner swap with Russia, US officials have attempted to gain the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, another American who is detained in Russia. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Tuesday that those efforts have continued recently and that the most recent hearing was a “sham,” adding that President Biden has been very clear that Brittney needs to be released very away.
The attorneys claimed that “she had hopes for today” since “every month, every day away from her family and friends matters to her.”
Griner’s case has raised concerns that she is being used as a political pawn in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the US State Department has maintained that she is unjustly jailed.
