WNBA basketball gamer Brittney Griner, who was apprehended at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later on charged with prohibited belongings of marijuana, waits on the decision prior to a court hearing in Khimki exterior Moscow, onAug 4, 2022.
Evgenia Novozhenina|AFP|Getty Images
American basketball gamer Brittney Griner, imprisoned in Russia in what the United States calls a wrongful detention, is being transferred to a chastening nest, her lawyers stated Wednesday.
“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, stated in a declaration.
Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury WNBA group, was apprehended at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, after Russian authorities stated they discovered vape containers with marijuana oil in her travel luggage.
The 32- year-old was sentenced to 9 years in jail in August, which sentence was supported by a Russian court in October after Griner’s attorneys appealed.
U.S. authorities think about Griner to be unlawfully apprehended. National security consultant Jake Sullivan has actually defined the court procedures as a sham.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated the federal government is continuing to work for her release.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” Jean-Pierre stated in a declaration Wednesday.
Griner’s legal group stated that she was moved from a detention center in Iksha, north of Moscow, on Friday.
Standard Russian treatment is that her lawyers and the U.S. embassy must be alerted when Griner reaches her location, the attorneys stated– however that is done through mail and can take 2 weeks.
Griner pleaded guilty in July, however stated that she ‘d loaded fast for a flight and brought the containers to Russia accidentally.
Griner dealt with injuries with medical marijuana, her lawyers argued at the trial. Cannabis, whether for medical or leisure functions, is prohibited inRussia In the United States, marijuana is legal for medical functions in a lot of states.
“Our primary concern continues to be BG’s health and well-being,” Griner’s representative, Lindsay Colas, stated in Wednesday’s declaration. “As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we ask for the public’s support in continuing to write letters and express their love and care for her.”
Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time WNBA all-star. She had actually remained in Russia to have fun with a Russian Premier League ladies’s group, UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she has actually done considering that 2014.
She was apprehended in February, about a week prior to Russia released an unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has even more stretched concerns in between Russia and the U.S.
The U.S. has actually proposed an exchange for Griner and another American imprisoned in Russia, Paul Whelan, in exchange for a founded guilty Russian arms dealership locked up in the U.S., Viktor Bout, sources have actually informed NBC News.
Jean-Pierre stated Wednesday that the U.S. “made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
“In the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. Government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russians through all available channels,” she stated.
