Brittney Griner sentenced to nine years in Russian prison
Speaking through a court interpreter before her sentencing, Griner said she never intended to break Russian law or harm anyone in Russia.
Griner, who plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, called Yekaterinburg her “second home.” She said she was moved by the comradeship she found with her teammates there and by the enthusiasm of her fans, especially the young girls who would wait outside the team’s change rooms to greet her. “That’s why I kept coming back.”Article content
A member of her legal team, Alexander Boikov, had told the judge that Griner deserved to be acquitted despite her guilty plea, saying the prosecution had failed to prove criminal intent. In addition, he said, her rights were breached during the investigation and legal process. The Phoenix Mercury star testified that she uses cannabis oil in the United States for treatment of chronic pain from injuries but knew that carrying cannabis into Russia was illegal. She said she flew to Russia despite U.S. State Department warnings about such travel because she did not want to let her Russian team down.
The United States has declined to say whether the pair would be swapped for Russian Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker who was arrested in a U.S. sting operation in Thailand in 2008. “We’ve made a serious proposal, made a serious offer,” Kirby said. “And we urge the Russians to take that offer because it was done with sincerity, and we know we can back it up.”
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