MOSCOW (AP)—More than four months after he was arrested for possession of marijuana at Moscow airport, a Russian court has set a July 1 deadline for the criminal trial of American basketball player Britney Griner.
Phoenix star Mercury has also been ordered to remain in custody pending the criminal process. He could face 10 years in prison if found guilty of selling drugs on a large scale. In criminal cases in Russia, less than 1% of defendants are acquitted and, unlike in the United States, acquittal can be overturned.
On Monday, a court in Khimki, near Moscow, extended Griner’s detention for another six months after he went to a preliminary hearing held behind closed doors. Photos taken by the AP showed him in handcuffs. Griner had previously been ordered to remain in detention until July 2.
Griner’s arrest and trial came at a very low point in relations between Moscow and Washington. He was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport less than a week before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, which escalated high tensions over extensive US sanctions and Russia’s condemnation of US arms sales to Ukraine.
Amid the tensions, Griner’s supporters remained low-profile, hoping for a calm solution until May, when the State Department reclassified him as a bogus detainee and handed over the administration of his case to special presidential envoys in charge of hostage affairs—almost the leader’s head. US government. mediator.
The move drew more attention in Griner’s case, as supporters encouraged a prisoner swap similar to the April Marine Corps veteran Trevor Reed going home in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug conspiracy.
Russian media have repeatedly thought he could be traded for the so-called “Death Dealer”, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to kill US citizens and aid a terrorist organization. .
Russia has been campaigning for Bout’s release for years. But the discrepancy between Griner’s alleged lawsuit in possession of cannabis oil vape cartridges and Bout’s deadly global arms deals may be unsatisfying to the US.
Others suggest it could be sold alongside Paul Whelan, a former naval and security chief who has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for spy charges the US has repeatedly called traps.
Asking CNN on Sunday whether a joint swap between Griner and Whelan for Booth would be considered, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken avoided the issue.
“As a general recommendation… I have no higher priority than getting Americans illegally imprisoned around the world to get home one way or another,” he said. However, “I can’t comment in detail on what we’re doing other than to say it’s an absolute priority.”
Maria Yarmush, a lawyer specializing in international civil litigation, told Kremlin-funded RT that any swap would require Griner to be convicted and convicted first, and then apply for a presidential pardon.
Source: Breitbart
