Who doesn't know Brittney Griner? She is a
female basketball athlete who has many achievements in the United States and
the world. Currently this NBA celebrity stumbled upon a marijuana case in
Russia and is being detained there. Russian authorities have accused the Tokyo
Olympic gold medalist of carrying marijuana in vape cartridges, which is
illegal in Russia.
In the latest trial, prosecutors summoned
a narcotics expert to examine drugs found in Griner's bag. His defense attorney
also summoned an expert who testified that the hearing did not comply with
official rules.
Griner was arrested at the airport in the
Russian capital last February for carrying a vape containing marijuana extract
in his suitcase. In his letter, he said he was afraid of being imprisoned
forever in Russia. Even Griner pleaded with president Joe Biden to release him
as he conveyed in an official letter.
"As I sit here in a Russian prison,
alone with my thoughts and without protection, my wife, family, friends,
Olympic jersey or any achievements, I fear I will be here forever," Griner
wrote in his letter. Jazeera.
The Griner trial began in Moscow on July
1. Two witnesses were examined by prosecutors: an airport customs officer, who
spoke in open court, and an unidentified witness who spoke in closed session.
Griner has pleaded guilty but said he did
not know the marijuana was in his bag and accidentally placed there. He said he
had no "intention" to break the law in Russia. If found guilty he
could face up to 10 years in prison.
Apart from being a star of the WNBA,
Griner's news of this arrest has become lively because it takes place amid
rising tensions between Moscow and Washington due to Russia's war with Ukraine.
Is the US side silent? Not. US Secretary
of State Antony Blinken last week spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov to release Griner and Paul Whelan, an American who has been imprisoned
since 2018 in Russia on charges of spying.
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