Russian court rejected Britney Grenier’s call She was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession on Tuesday.
The court upheld the sentence of Mr WNBA star. However, in the ruling, the court stated that Greiner’s time in prison would be recalculated taking her time in pretrial detention into account.
One day in pretrial detention will count as 1.5 days in prison, which means Greiner will spend about eight years in prison unless the United States and Russia reach an agreement on a possible future prisoner exchange.
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FILE – Two-time WNBA Olympic gold medalist Britney Greiner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, August 4, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan issued a statement after upholding the ruling.
“We are aware of news from Russia that Britney Grenier will continue to be unjustly detained under intolerable conditions after having to undergo yet another spurious judicial process today. President Biden has been very clear that Britney must be released immediately,” the statement read.
“In recent weeks, the Biden-Harris administration has continued to engage with Russia through all available channels and to do its utmost to bring Britney home as well as to support and advocate for other Americans detained in Russia, including illegal detainee Paul Whelan. The President has shown that he is willing to go go to great lengths and make difficult decisions to bring Americans home, as his administration has done so successfully from countries around the world. The administration remains in regular contact with representatives of the families, and we continue to admire their courage in the face of these unimaginable circumstances.”
Greiner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17 after Russian authorities said she had cannabis oil packets inside her luggage.
A Russian court has found Britney Grenier guilty of drug smuggling and hoarding after prosecutors requested a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the athlete.
(EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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On August 4, she was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty, arguing that she prescribed cannabis for her pain and inadvertently packed it.
Grenier’s attorneys, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boikov, said Monday that the NBA star “doesn’t expect any miracles.”
“She is extremely nervous awaiting the appeal hearing. Britney does not expect any miracles to happen, but she is hopeful that the appeals court will hear the defense arguments and reduce the time,” they said in a statement on Monday via Reuters.
The White House has indicated the possibility of a prisoner exchange. National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said in September that Russia did not respond To the “substantive proposal” the United States presented back in July, an agreement involving former US Marines Paul Whelan.
“They didn’t respond to our offer. We made a serious offer to get it Britney Greiner And Paul Wayne back home, Kirby said at the time. “The Russians did not respond to this offer. But this does not mean that we are still in negotiations.”
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Britney Greiner is seen at the bottom of the television screen as she waits to appear in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Prison Service in a courtroom ahead of the hearing at the Moscow Regional Court in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
“We want them to accept that, frankly, these two have to be at home anyway, period. But we understand that it’s likely as a result of the negotiation process, a process that we want to engage in honestly and fully, and we’ve done that. And we’re waiting for them. Accept the offer on the table.
October 17 marks eight months in Russia’s detention for Greiner. The next day was her thirty-second birthday.
Paulina Didage of Trending News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.