Russia sentences US basketball star Brittney Griner to 9 years in jail over drugs charges
- US President Joe Biden called the ruling ‘unacceptable’, as attention now turns to the high-stakes possibility of a prisoner swap
- Washington is said to be willing to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, whose life helped inspire the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War
A Russian court sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that President Joe Biden called “unacceptable”.
Griner was arrested in mid-February, and her case threw the Texan athlete into the geopolitical maelstrom triggered when President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, propelling US-Russian relations to a new post-Cold War low.
Griner’s sentencing could now pave the way for a US-Russia prisoner swap that would include the 31-year-old athlete and an imprisoned Russian who was once a prolific arms dealer.
Griner had admitted having the vape cartridges containing hashish oil but said it was an honest mistake. Before the verdict, she pleaded with a Russian judge not to “end her life” with a harsh prison sentence, before breaking down in tears in court. The court also fined her 1 million roubles (US$16,990).
Biden, under pressure to help free Americans held in Russia, called on Russia to release Griner immediately and said his administration would continue to work for her release.