A Russian court has denied former WNBA player Brittney Griner’s appeal of her excessive nine-year sentence for a drug charge from February.
On October 25, the devastating news was handed down to Griner, who turned 32 one week ago while serving her sentence in a Russian prison. Her attorneys filed the appeal in August, citing the punishment was excessive.
Her lawyers argued that the Moscow Regional Court’s decision to give the baller such a lengthy sentence was superfluous given the offense and didn’t correlate with Russian law. They requested that she be acquitted or given a significantly reduced time in lockup. The court reportedly rendered its decision in merely a half-hour.
The White House issued a statement via National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“We are aware of the news out of Russia that Brittney Griner will continue to be wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances after having to undergo another sham judicial proceeding today. President Biden has been very clear that Brittney should be released immediately.”
The statement continued, “In recent weeks, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to engage with Russia through every available channel and make every effort to bring home Brittney as well as to support and advocate for other Americans detained in Russia, including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan. The President has demonstrated that he is willing to go to extraordinary lengths and make tough decisions to bring Americans home, as his Administration has done successfully from countries around the world. The Administration remains in regular touch with representatives of the families, and we continue to admire their courage in the face of these unimaginable circumstances.”
From a detention center in Novoye Grishino, roughly 45 miles from Moscow, a disappointed Griner expressed, “People with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given.”
She also apologized again, saying, “I did not intend to do this.”
Though the Moscow Regional Court didn’t rule in Griner’s favor, the court intends to reevaluate her prison sentence to include the time she was detained during the pre-trial, according to the Associated Press. The reevaluation would make her sentence eight years.
