MOSCOW (AP)-WNBA star Britney Greener’s lawyer said on Friday that her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month.
Oleksandr Boikov told The Associated Press that he believes the relatively short extension of his detention indicates that the case will soon be on trial. He has been imprisoned for almost three months.
He came to a brief hearing handcuffed, his dreadlocks clad in a red hoodie, and his face lowered.
“We have not received any complaints from our client about the conditions of his detention,” said Boikov.
Two-time Olympic champion Griner was jailed at a Moscow airport after vape cartridges containing cannabis-derived oil were found in his luggage, which could face a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The Biden administration said Griner, 31, was detained illegally. WNBA and US officials are working towards his release, but no progress has been made.
The Russians described Griner’s trial as a crime without any political involvement.
But that’s against the backdrop of Moscow’s war with Ukraine, which has brought US-Russian relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.
Despite tensions, last month Russia and the United States conducted a surprise prisoner exchange with Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle ex-Marine Trevor Reid in the United States. generally avoiding such exchanges, he made the deal, in part because Yaroshenko had served most of his prison sentence.
Russians may see Griner as a potential participant in another such exchange.
The State Department said last week it believes Griner was wrongfully detained. This change in classification indicates that the US government will be more active in trying to get his release even after the case is in court. The change in statute comes under the jurisdiction of the President’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who is responsible for negotiating the case, the release of hostages and wrongfully detained Americans.
A center headed by Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the UN who helped free many hostages and detainees, including Reed, is also working on the case.
It’s not entirely clear why the US government, which has been more cautious in its approach over the past few weeks, has reclassified Griner as wrongfully imprisoned. But there are several factors that influence such a character under federal law, including whether the detention is based on being American or whether the detainee has been duly dismissed.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed that US Ambassador John Sullivan had met with his Russian counterparts, but did not say whether the conversation was about Griner or his case.
Source: Breitbart
