WNBA star Brittney Griner’s defense team recently filed an appeal against her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession and smuggling.
According to reports, Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told Russian news agencies that “the appeal was filed, but the grounds of the appeal were not immediately clear.” The move was reportedly expected as the Phoenix Mercury center’s defense team announced its plans immediately after the verdict. They reportedly had just 10 days to file.
The news arrived on Aug. 15, amid reported talks between Russia and the U.S. that could lead to a high-profile prisoner swap. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously confirmed that the U.S. made a “substantial offer,” in regards to exchanging convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. Bout has been serving 25 years in U.S. federal prison, while Whelan has been detained in Russia on alleged espionage charges since 2018.
Griner was initially detained on Feb. 17 after Russian customs officials claimed she tried to smuggle hashish oil into the European nation.
A few months later, in May, the U.S. State Department declared the eight-time WNBA all-star and two-time Olympic gold medalist “wrongfully detained.”
In July, she was sentenced to nine years in prison, prompting President Joe Biden to condemn the verdict and sentence.
“I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said on Aug. 4.
Griner also maintained her innocence in court, saying that she had no intention of breaking Russian law when she flew to Moscow to play basketball in Yekaterinburg. As such, her lawyers criticized her harsh sentencing, noting that in similar cases, defendants have received an average sentence of approximately five years, with about a third of them being granted parole.
More details on this case are currently developing.
