Cannabis costs US star nine years in prison: 'A piece in the big game between Russia and the US'
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in prison for drug smuggling in Russia.
American basketball player Brittney Griner is known to be guilty of smuggling cannabis oil into Russia back in February. Such a verdict was handed down on Thursday at a court hearing on the outskirts of Moscow. This was reported by AFP and Reuters news agencies.
The punishment carries a nine-year prison sentence. Griner will also be fined one million roubles, the equivalent of about 119,000 Danish kroner. The prosecutor believed that Griner, 31, should have nine years and six months in prison in a case where Griner himself had already pleaded guilty.
Griner was arrested a week before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the American star has since become the center of a political conundrum between the United States and Russia.
How it all started
The case began on 17 February, when Griner was stopped at a Moscow airport with a small amount of cannabis oil in his luggage.
A week later - on 24 February - Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. The Griner incident worsened relations between the US and Russia and quickly led to suspicions that the athlete's detention in Russia was politically motivated. The Russian government has always denied this.
Griner pleaded guilty in July but claimed she did not do so intentionally.
During the case, the basketball player publicly asked Biden to step up US efforts to bring him home.
Earlier this summer, according to the White House, Biden told Griner's wife, working to get the basketball player fired as soon as possible.
Griner has been to Russia several times in recent years. In addition to playing for Phoenix Mercury in the United States' top women's basketball league, the WNBA, she has also played for Russia's UGMK Ekaterinburg. She has been doing so since 2014.
In addition, Griner has twice helped win Olympic gold with the US women's national team. Oh, it won't be long now before you can bet online on a match involving Brittney. But while we wait for her release from captivity, we can develop a sports betting strategy using tips from www.motionsfeltet.dk.
A figure in the political game
But the case against Brittney Griner is about much more than a basketball player and cannabis oil. Because, according to DR Russian correspondent Matilda Kimer, the American is caught in a political game between two major nations.
Because when Russia portrays an American athlete as a drug dealer, there are some negative feelings underneath that, which are perhaps more directed at the United States than at her as a person and the offense she committed.
- She admitted she made a mistake herself and thus exposed herself and Russia saw an opportunity to use her in a big political game between them and the US.
Because while it is not unusual for Russian prosecutors to work with such lengthy sentences for drug trafficking, the punishment rarely reaches such a limit, says Matilda Kimer.
- But to receive a full sentence is relatively atypical. So I also believe that she is being treated on political parameters, not just her own case.
Reaction to the verdict
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver:
- The verdict is unwarranted and sad, but it is not unexpected because Brittney Griner remains illegally detained. We are hopeful that we are getting closer to completing this process so that we can bring BG home to the US.
US President Joe Biden in his statement:
- Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. This is unacceptable, and I call on Russia to dismiss her immediately so that she can be with her wife, family, friends and teammates.
Could be part of a prisoner exchange
Brittney Griner has become a pawn in a political game, but how will that pawn be used?
Some may indicate that the basketball player will be part of an exchange between the United States and Russia, where Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, jailed in Russia for espionage, will be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who is serving 25 years in US custody.
Matilda Kimer at one point thought a deal was in place, but Thursday's verdict shows that things have not fallen into place.
- There are some goals to be achieved and that's why we see the process ending with a very strict verdict, signaling on the Russian side that this is a very big crime. But I still think there is a chance she could take part in an exchange program," says Mathilde Kimmer.
And something might indicate that Kimmer would be right in that assumption. Following Thursday's verdict, White House spokesman John Kirby said the United States had made a "serious offer" to Russia to exchange Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was ready to talk about a prisoner exchange, but it must go through existing diplomatic channels.
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