Brittney Griner appeared back in Russian court Tuesday for the trial involving the allegations that she carried vape cartridges with hashish oil in her luggage while at an airport near Moscow.
The Mercury star has stated that she had no criminal intent and that the cartridges ended up in her luggage because she was packing quickly. As U.S. officials work to secure her release, ESPN’s T.J. Quinn reported that a verdict and sentence for Griner are expected Friday, which would come one day after the trial’s scheduled closing statements.
Griner entered the court in handcuffs and was placed in a cage during Tuesday's trial in Khimki, a city on the northern edge of Moscow. In her hearing, prosecutors called a state narcotics expert who observed cannabis in Griner’s luggage.
Griner’s defense included a specialist who disputed the analysis, saying that it was inaccurate and did not adhere to official rules. To strengthen Griner’s case, her defense introduced testimony from doctors that she was prescribed cannabis as a pain treatment. However, the use of medical marijuana for treatment is not permitted in Russia.
Maria Blagovolina, Griner’s attorney, told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing that there will be a series of factors that will be considered by the court. According to the Associated Press, Blagovolina also said that Griner “admitted that she did bring something, but we need to know what she did bring.”
Griner could face 10 years in prison if she is convicted. Under Russian law, judges have the freedom to consider mitigating factors. But acquittals are few and far between and account for less than 1% of cases in Russian criminal prosecutions.
Per the AP, a conviction could potentially pave the way for Griner’s exchange as Russian authorities say it could happen only at the conclusion of the judicial process. Tom Firestone, a Washington attorney who previously served as a legal adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told the AP that Russia “may want to let this play out a little bit longer and try to extract more concessions.”
As the trial for Griner continues, President Joe Biden and his administration have been put under pressure to get her safely back on U.S. soil.
Tuesday’s events come after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday for the first time since before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Blinken pressed Lavrov in a “frank and direct” conversation to accept a prisoner swap deal in which Griner and Paul Whelan, an American who is imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would be released.
The U.S. prisoner swap deal calls for Griner and Whelan to be released from Russian officials in exchange for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer. However, on Friday, Russia reportedly made a counteroffer to include Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel in the country’s spy business, to be included, according to CNN.
In December, Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison after German officials convicted him of murdering former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili at a Berlin park in 2019. But Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Russia’s counteroffer was made in “bad faith” and was not taken seriously by U.S. officials.
Griner has been detained for 166 days in Russia.
