a A Russian court begins hearing the appeal of the American basketball player Britney GreinerHe was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession.
The WNBA The star was convicted on August 4 after police said they found vaporizer packages containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Biden meets families of Britney Greiner and Paul Whelan
her lawyer, Maria Blagovolinaargued that the prison sentence of nine years was too long, but the Russian authorities responded that it was “fair.”
Greiner She herself was participating in the hearing in the Moscow Regional Court via video call from the penal colony on the outskirts of the Russian capital, where she is being held.
GreinerHis arrest in February came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent its forces into Ukraine. in time, Greiner She was returning to Russia, where she played during the off-season MLS.
US Attempts to Bring Britney Greiner Home
Before her conviction, the US State Department stated that Greiner He had been arrested “unjustly”, a charge that Russia vehemently rejected.
city police Anthony Blinken He was working hard to try to arrange a prisoner exchange that would see Greiner Go back to the United States with Paul WhelanHe is an American serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinkin No further details were given, but the Associated Press and other news agencies reported that Washington had offered to exchange Greiner And the Whelan for Victor Pota Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States and the nickname “Dealer of Death”.
The White House said it had not yet received a fruitful response from Russia to the offer.
Russian diplomats declined to comment on the US proposal, urging Washington to discuss the matter in secret talks and to avoid public statements.
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