By JIM HEINTZ
KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — An emotional Brittney Griner apologized Thursday for her actions as her drug possession trial drew to an in depth Thursday in Russia, and a prosecutor urged that the American basketball star be convicted and sentenced to 9 1/2 years in jail in a case that reached the best ranges of U.S.-Russia diplomacy.
With a choose set to situation a verdict later within the day and a conviction all however sure, Griner made a last enchantment to the court docket and stated she had no intention to interrupt the regulation by bringing vape cartridges with hashish oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg.
“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner stated, her voice cracking. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”
She referred to as it “an honest mistake,” including: “hope in your ruling it does not end my life.”
Under Russian regulation, the 31-year-old Griner faces as much as 10 years in jail if convicted. however judges have appreciable latitude on sentencing.
Although a conviction is all however sure, on condition that Russian courts hardly ever acquit defendants and Griner has admitted to having vape cartridges with hashish oil in her baggage, judges have appreciable latitude on sentencing.
Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury middle and two-time Olympic gold medalist have pursued methods to bolster Griner’s rivalry that she had no prison intent and that the canisters ended up in her baggage as a result of hasty packing. They have offered character witnesses from the Russian staff that she performs for within the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a physician who stated he prescribed her hashish for ache remedy.
Griner lawyer Maria Blagovolina argued that Griner introduced the cartridges along with her to Russia inadvertently and solely used hashish to deal with her ache from accidents sustained in her profession. She stated she used it solely in Arizona, the place medical marijuana is authorized.
She emphasised that Griner was packing in haste after a grueling flight and affected by the implications of COVID-19. Blagovolina additionally identified that the evaluation of hashish present in Griner’s possession was flawed and violated authorized procedures.
Blagovolina requested the court docket to acquit Griner, noting that she had no previous prison report and hailing her function in “the development of Russian basketball.”
Another protection lawyer, Alexander Boykov, additionally emphasised Griner’s function in taking her Yekaterinburg staff to win a number of championships, noting that she was cherished and admired by her teammates.
He informed the choose {that a} conviction would undermine Russia’s efforts to develop nationwide sports activities and make Moscow’s name to depoliticize sports activities sound shallow.
Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner received the sympathy of each her guards and jail inmates, who supported her by shouting, “Brittney, everything will be OK!” when she went on walks on the jail.
Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the hashish oil intentionally, and he requested the court docket at hand Briner a positive of 1 million rubles (about $16,700) along with the jail sentence.
It’s not clear when the decision might be introduced. If she doesn’t go free, consideration will flip to the high-stakes risk of a prisoner swap.
Before her trial started in July, the State Department designated her as “wrongfully detained,” shifting her case beneath the supervision of its particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs, successfully the federal government’s chief hostage negotiator.
Then final week, in a unprecedented transfer, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, urging him to simply accept a deal beneath which Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would go free.
The Lavrov-Blinken name marked the highest-level identified contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia despatched troops into Ukraine greater than 5 months in the past. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with U.S. efforts to isolate the Kremlin.
People conversant in the proposal say it envisions buying and selling Griner and Whelan for the infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout, who’s serving a jail sentence within the United States. It underlines the general public strain that the White House has confronted to get Griner launched.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated Monday that Russia has made a “bad faith” response to the U.S. authorities’s supply, a counteroffer that American officers don’t regard as severe. She declined to elaborate.
Russian officers have scoffed at U.S. statements in regards to the case, saying they present a disrespect for Russian regulation. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to debate the problem by way of “quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”