Brittney Griner

The 31-year-old Griner admitted possessing cannabis oil but told the court she made an “honest mistake”. However, the court convicted her of smuggling and ...

She had come to Russia to play club basketball during the US off-season, a BBC report said. I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime,” Griner had told the court after both sides presented closing arguments. The basketball player also said she had received neither an explanation of her rights nor access to a lawyer in the initial hours of her detention, and that she had to use a translation app on her phone to communicate.

Her sentencing could now pave the way for a US-Russia prisoner swap that would include the 31-year-old athlete and an imprisoned Russian who was once.

Griner appeared at the hearing in a grey T-shirt and round-rimmed glasses. "I want to say again that I had no intent on breaking any Russians laws," she told the court. Griner's defence team had called for her to be acquitted. "She is very upset, very stressed," said Maria Blagovolina, partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners, after the hearing. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was arrested in mid-February as she arrived to play for a Russian side during the WNBA off-season. The court also fined her 1 million roubles ($16,990).

Brittney Griner, 31, is a two-time Olympic champion and star player in the Women's National Basket.

She testified that she did not understand how the cartridges could have ended up in her luggage. Medical marijuana is a common treatment method among athletes where the substance is legal given that it has fewer side effects than some painkillers. Griner’s defence team said it was “legally possible” for her to be swapped after the court renders a verdict. Prominent U.S. athletes also have expressed their support for Griner. Megan Rapinoe of the women’s U.S. national soccer team wore a white suit jacket with the initials “BG” embroidered on her lapel as she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the country, from Biden last month. Griner had a prescription in the United States for medical marijuana to relieve the pain from chronic injuries. She was flying there to join her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, for the playoffs after spending time at home in the United States.

US basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court on Thursday over drug smuggling. Judge Anna Sotnikova also asked ...

Judge Sotnikova also asked Griner to pay one million rubles or USD 16,590. Notably, Griner is one of the world's greatest basketball players. Judge Anna Sotnikova also asked Griner to pay one million rubles or USD 16,590.

Brittney Griner guilty of deliberate drug smuggling: நான் ஒரு நேர்மையான தவறு செய்தேன், உங்கள் தீர்ப்பு, என் ...

மேலும் படிக்க மேலும் படிக்க மேலும் படிக்க மேலும் படிக்க

Following Brittney Griner's conviction for narcotics possession and nine-year prison term, discussion has turned to the possibility of a prisoner swap ...

The conviction and sentence will only increase pressure on the government to find a deal that can get her out of prison quickly, even though several Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have expressed opposition to a deal. Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, claimed on Monday that the Russian government had made a "poor faith" offer in response, which was not taken seriously by American officials. The group was categorised by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation at the time of his conviction, but that classification was removed last year. It's difficult to say, but the interaction between Blinken and Lavrov does seem to indicate more development than previously. However, there isn't much recent precedent for prisoner swaps being discussed in public before the deal is finalised and planes take off, at least not by the American administration. The formal conclusion of the court action may also provide both parties with the impetus they need to negotiate a diplomatic settlement.

Off the field News: A Russian court on Thursday found US basketball star Brittney Griner guilty of smuggling and storing drugs and sentenced her to nine ...

The arrest came just days before Moscow launched its military intervention in Ukraine. Vlasenko said Griner "deliberately" proceeded through the green corridor at customs and stated she had nothing to declare "in order to conceal" the substance. "The court completely ignored all the evidence of the defence, and most importantly, the guilty plea," lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement. Sotnikova sentenced Griner, 31, to nine years in prison and said she would also have to pay a fine of one million rubles ($16,590). The court "found the defendant guilty" of smuggling and possessing "a significant amount of narcotics", judge Anna Sotnikova told a court in the town of Khimki just outside Moscow. Judge Anna Sotnikova sentenced Griner, 31, to 9 years in prison and said she would also have to pay a fine of one million rubles ($16,590). (Reuters photo)

WNBA players, coaches and fans locked arms and tried to send Britney Griner strength during a moment of silence.

We approached the game tonight with a heavy heart, as we have every game this season.” “I mean, it’s like you’re waiting for a bomb to drop watching it, seeing her behind bars,” Mercury guard Diamond DeShields said. You try to honour her and still play hard for her. “Obviously, it’s devastating,” DeShields said. Right now, we still got to try and keep her spirit alive. “How are you supposed to approach the game and court with a clear mind?

The US and Russia have indicated they are ready to hold talks over a prisoner swap, a day after basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug ...

Earlier Friday, a US State Department official told reporters there had been no "serious response" from Russia on a proposed swap. Prior to the verdict on Thursday, Griner apologized to the court and asked for leniency in an emotional speech. And we'll be pursuing that," Blinken told reporters at a press briefing.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on ...

She told the court: “I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here… The court completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea.” She had come to play for a Russian team during the WNBA offseason. This report said judicial outcomes in the year were “comparable to levels at the height of the Soviet police state”. In her plea, Griner pleaded guilty to carrying less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage as she travelled through the Moscow airport on 17 February. While admitting that she had no intention of bringing cannabis into Russia, Griner blamed it on “stress packing”. Her lawyers said in a statement: “We are very disappointed by the verdict.