Brittney Griner’s situation in Russia has shifted from precarious to straight-up disastrous.
The WNBA star made her final appeal in a Russian court on Thursday by issuing an apology to her family, her fans and her team for her “honest mistake” of carrying less than a gram carrying cannabis oil in her luggage upon arrival in Russia.
It seems that the apology fell on deaf ears with Russian authorities. The judge sentenced Griner to nine years in prison after finding her guilty of drug smuggling, per ABC News’ James Longman.
It was only a half year off of the 9.5 years prosecutors requested from the judge ahead of the sentencing.
US basketball star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in jail, after being found guilty of drug smuggling by a Russian judge
The maximum penalty. She had less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage, and had already admitted to it.
— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) August 4, 2022
In her statement, Griner said she never meant to heart anyone and begged Russian authorities not to “end my life here.”
“I never meant to hurt anybody. I never meant to put in jeopardy the Russian population. I never meant to break any laws here. I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here.”
Griner now has a nine-year sentence and is gravely in danger for obvious reasons.
The Russian justice system is mysterious at best and sinister at its worst — particularly for someone like Griner who is a gay, Black woman. Russia isn’t known for being kind to people like her.
She needs help and she needs it fast. No one knows what will happen to her over there and, honestly, it’s terrifying to think about.
That’s why fans everywhere passionately voiced their support for Griner after we learned of the sentencing:
