In Russia, an American basketball player was sentenced to nine years in prison

A court in Khimki issued a verdict in the case of American Brittney Griner, who was accused in Russia of drug smuggling.

A Russian court sentenced American basketball player Brittney Griner to 9.5 years in a penal colony for drug smuggling. This was reported by the Russian edition of Mediazon on Thursday, August 4.

This happened immediately after the start of negotiations between Russia and the United States on its exchange.

Greiner was jailed in mid-February on suspicion of drug smuggling. They found vapes with hemp oil on him.

Greiner’s lawyers said he only used medical marijuana on the advice of doctors in Arizona, where it is legal, because of severe pain from a sports injury, according to CNN.

“I had no intention, I did not plan and I had no plan to commit this crime. I made a mistake by accident, but I hope your sentence does not end my life here. I want the court to understand that this was an accidental mistake. I was in a hurry, under stress, trying to recover from COVID and just trying to get back to my team,” he said in his final statement at the hearing.

It should be noted that the United States recently offered Russia to exchange Griner and American Paul Whelan, who received 16 years in Russia for espionage, for Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in the United States for arms trafficking.

This proposal did not suit Russia, and it offered to extradite here another prisoner – Vadim Krasikov, accused in the FRG of killing a Chechen.

Let’s remember that the Russian court declared the Azov Regiment a “terrorist organization”.

The Office of the President called this court decision “legal nonsense” and a pure “propaganda product” for the citizens of Russia itself.

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