[ad_1]
Carrying a black and grey sweatshirt with the slogan “Black lives for peace” printed on the again, Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia on drug expenses, appeared in a courtroom close to Moscow on Tuesday as her protection group continued to current proof that she had not meant to interrupt the legislation.
She was escorted to a courtroom by a bunch of cops, one in all them carrying a balaklava, and stood in a metallic cage, holding images of her relations, teammates and mates, based on video footage from the scene printed by Russian state tv.
After being detained in a Moscow airport one week earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Ms. Griner has change into an unlikely pawn in a diplomatic recreation between Moscow and Washington. Together with her responsible plea making the decision appear a foregone conclusion, consultants mentioned that her finest hope was that the Biden administration may discover a method to swap her for a high-profile Russian being held by america.
Throughout courtroom hearings, her protection group argued for leniency, saying that Ms. Griner had not meant to smuggle narcotics into Russia and that, like many different worldwide athletes, she had used hashish to assist ease ache from accidents.
A narcology knowledgeable testified in courtroom on Tuesday, Ms. Griner’s legal professionals mentioned, to current a case that in some nations, together with america, medical hashish “is a well-liked therapy, particularly amongst athletes.”
“With the prescription in place, Brittney might have used it for medical, however not for leisure functions,” mentioned Maria Blagovolina, one in all Ms. Griner’s legal professionals and a associate at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin & Companions, a agency in Moscow.
On the earlier listening to, the legal professionals offered a word from Ms. Griner’s physician recommending hashish to deal with her ache. Ms. Griner was additionally anticipated to seem in courtroom on Wednesday, when she may very well be referred to as to testify.
Ms. Griner had traveled to Russia as a result of she performed for a group within the nation to earn extra cash in the course of the low season. Russian customs officers found two vape cartridges with cannabis oil — a hashish spinoff — in her baggage.
Ms. Griner was taken into custody close to Moscow and accused of willfully smuggling the vape cartridges, a cost that may carry a sentence of as much as 10 years in jail.
On July 7, Ms. Griner pleaded responsible to the costs, saying that she had unintentionally carried a banned substance into Russia as a result of she had packed in a rush. The Russian authorities have signaled that no attainable trade can happen earlier than a verdict in courtroom.
American officers have mentioned that they’re doing all they will to return Ms. Griner house, arguing that she was wrongfully detained. Final week, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian International Ministry, mentioned that such statements have been “political, biased, and illegitimate.”
“If an American citizen was detained on drug trafficking expenses and he or she doesn’t deny it herself, then this could correspond to Russian laws, and to not the legal guidelines adopted in San Francisco,” Ms. Zakharova mentioned.
[ad_2]
Source link
