The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team Phoenix Mercury’s 6’8″ tall Griner, an eight-time All-Star, was reportedly detained in February at a Moscow-area airport just before Russia invaded Ukraine.
US Olympic gold medallist and WNBA star Brittney Griner gets 9 years in Russian prison. (Picture Credits - IANS)
Olympic gold medalist and popular American women’s basketball player Brittney Griner was found guilty of drug possession in Russia and given a nine-year prison sentence. In addition, she was asked to pay a punishment of USD16,300 for the alleged offence, according to a report on insidethegames.biz.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team Phoenix Mercury’s 6’8″ tall Griner, an eight-time All-Star, was reportedly detained in February at a Moscow-area airport just before Russia invaded Ukraine. Canisters for vaping cannabis oil were reportedly in her luggage.
The 31-year-old Griner, who participated in the gold-winning teams in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo five years later, was in the nation to represent UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League. She began with the team in 2014.
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The detention was deemed unacceptable by US President Joe Biden, who also demanded her immediate release.
“…American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately…”
The report said that the, “The politically charged trial could lead to a potential prisoner exchange involving Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the ‘Merchant of Death’.”
The report added that, initially Russian prosecutors had demanded a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the player but it was subsequently reduced since she has been in prison since February 2022.
While Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges, she has denied she knowingly broke the law.
A CNN report said US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has sent Russia a “substantial proposal”.
(Inputs from IANS)
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