WNBA star Brittney Griner found guilty of drug possession and sentenced to 9 years in prison

KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — A Russian judge on Thursday found US basketball star Britney Griner guilty of drug possession and drug trafficking and sentenced her to nine years in prison.

Judge Anna Sotnikova said the length of time Griner has been held in custody since his arrest in February will count toward his sentence.

Griner’s reaction to the offer was emotionless. He listened to the verdict from the defendant’s cell with a blank expression on his face.

Summing up the evidence and citing his findings on Thursday, the judge said Griner, 31, smuggled drugs into Russia.

Before the unusually quick sentence was announced, Griner went to court for a final appeal. When he flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in Yekaterinburg, he said he had no intention of breaking the law by bringing cannabis oil vape cartridges into the country.

Attention is now turning to the possibility of a major prisoner exchange, which US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggested to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to the proposed agreement, American Griner and Paul Whelan, who were imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, will be released.

Russian officials are tight-lipped about the possible deal and are angry at US statements on the case, saying any possible deal should be discussed through “silent diplomacy without releasing speculative information.”

US President Joe Biden made a statement that angered Russian officials regarding the decision, describing Griner as “unjustly imprisoned”.

“Today, US citizen Brittney Griner was sentenced to prison, which is another reminder of what the world already knows: Russia is getting Britney wrong. This is unacceptable and I urge Russia to immediately release him so that he can be with his wife, loved ones, friends and teammates.”