The trial in Russia for detained WNBA star Brittney Griner has taken yet another big turn. Making their closing arguments as the trial winds down, prosecutors in Russia have called for a 9.5-year prison sentence for Griner, as reported by the Associated Press.
Russian prosecutors asked a court outside Moscow to sentence American basketball star Brittney Griner to 9 1/2 years in prison as closing arguments in her cannabis possession trial were made Thursday.
Brittney Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport after cannabis vape cartridges were discovered in her luggage, can face up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted in Russia. The WNBA star had pleaded guilty to the drug charges, though some believed it to be a strategy intended to secure her eventual release from the country.
The United States had previously declared Griner as wrongfully detained in Russia, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging Russia's Sergey Lavrov to accept a prisoner swap deal involving the WNBA star, ex-Marine Paul Whelan and notorious arms trader Viktor Bout.
It was the highest-level of known contact between the White House and Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began. Given the fact that Russian courts rarely acquit defendants, it seems that Griner's chances of avoiding a sentence are slim.
That would then shift the attention of both countries to the prisoner swap. Six months into her detainment, Brittney Griner is seemingly no closer to returning home.
These next several days will be pivotal to her potential return to the States.
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