US basketball star Griner, facing Russian jail term, sends thanks for support


 Court hearing of U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner

Tue, October 18, 2022 at 10:31 AM·2 min read


MOSCOW (Reuters) - American WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner, whose appeal against a Russian jail term is due to be heard next week, sent her supporters a message of thanks on Tuesday, her 32nd birthday.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist was arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, and was sentenced on Aug. 4 to nine years in a penal colony on drug smuggling charges. Her appeal is due to be heard next Tuesday.

"All the support and love are definitely helping me," Griner was quoted as saying by her lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, who spent several hours with her in the Moscow pre-trial detention centre where she is being held.

Griner pleaded guilty at her trial but said she had made an "honest mistake" and not meant to break the law. Cannabis is illegal in Russia for both medicinal and recreational purposes.

"Today is of course a difficult day for Brittney," said Blagovolina, who is representing Griner in court.

"Not only is this her birthday in jail away from her family, team mates and friends, but she is very stressed in anticipation of the appeal hearing on Oct. 25."

Washington says Griner was wrongfully detained and has offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. It said last week it had had no consular access to her since August.

Moscow has also suggested it is open to a prisoner swap.

Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who travelled to Moscow in September, has said he believes Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan could both be released by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Filipp Lebedev; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Angus MacSwan)

Brittney Griner Turns 32 Years Old in Russian Prison


Natasha Dye
Tue, October 18, 2022 

US' Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on August 4, 2022. - Lawyers for US basketball star Brittney Griner, who is standing trial in Russia on drug charges, said on July 26, 2022 they hoped she would receive a "lenient" sentence.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty

On Brittney Griner's 243rd day imprisoned in Russia, she'll be hitting her 32nd birthday.

The WNBA star — who was arrested at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17 — turns 32 years old on Tuesday.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 4 on charges of smuggling drugs into the country, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years. After the trial, her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina had said the sentence was "absolutely unreasonable."

The athlete's lawyers filed an appeal, and hearings for that will begin Oct. 25.

Blagovolina had previously told PEOPLE that they don't know if the appeal will be successful — and historically, appeals have not done much to change Russian prison sentences — but said that they have to try.

US' Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, holds a picture of her team as she stands inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022. - Lawyers for US basketball star Brittney Griner, who is standing trial in Russia on drug charges, said on July 26, 2022 they hoped she would receive a "lenient" sentence.
EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty Brittney Griner holds up a photo of her teammates while in court


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"We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities," she said.

For now, Griner is likely living in a detention center that is part of the prison penal colony as she awaits her hearing, and for any news on a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the U.S.

Griner's wife, Cherelle, spoke publicly for the first time since the sentencing on Oct. 5 with CBS Morning's Gayle King and voiced her concern about her wife's ordeal, saying Brittney is a "hostage."

"On its face it just seems like my wife is a hostage. To know that our government and the foreign government is sitting down and negotiating for her release? She's a hostage," Cherelle said.

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���������������� ��. ������������/Instagram. President Joe Biden Meets with Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan's Family Members. https://www.instagram.com/p/CioXEJrr6G6/.

Cherelle T. Griner/Instagram

A meeting last month at the White House solidified to her that President Biden is making efforts to secure her wife's release. Cherelle told King, "He's doing what he can. But there's another party in this situation, and we also are dealing with the need for Russia to have mercy on B.G. as well."

RELATED: Brittney Griner's Wife Cherelle Says the WNBA Star Is 'At Her Absolute Weakest' Right Now in Russia

"I have heard so many stories about this exact situation happening with Americans going through Russia and at the airport they were told, 'Pay a fine and go on with your day.' But because B.G. is Brittney Griner, I do think this got really complicated really quickly," Cherelle told King.

Cherelle emphasized that she is well aware that crime deserves punishment, especially since she works in the legal field, but "it must be balanced."