Prosecution Asks Russian Court to Sentence Brittney Griner to Nearly 10 Years in Prison

Mar. 15, 2025

Russian prosecutors have asked the court to sentenceBrittney Grinerto more than nine-and-a-half years in prison as the WNBA star’sdrug possession trial in a Russian courtwraps up.

On Thursday, the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments in 31-year-old Griner’s trial, according to theAssociated Press.

A verdict in the trial and sentencing are expected Thursday evening, Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told theThe New York Timeson Thursday, after previously saying they expected the trial to end later in August.

In addition to the nine-year, six-month sentencing, the prosecution has also asked that Griner is fined 1 million rubles, which roughly equals $16,600, according to theTimes. On Wednesday, another one of Griner’s lawyers, Aleksandr Boikov, told theTimesthat Griner would have an opportunity to make a final statement before her verdict is read on Thursday.

The trial, which started on July 1 and has continued on after Griner pleaded guilty to bringing cannabis oil into Russia, has seen Griner and her defense team argue that the Phoenix Mercury starinadvertently brought the product to Russiaand that she had used the product medicinally in the United States.

During Tuesday’s hearing —the seventh in Griner’s trial— Griner’s lawyers called in a forensic chemist who testified that the arresting officers did not properly examine the cannabis oil in her possession in accordance with Russian law, according toCNN. Blagovolina also said after the hearing ended that the examination’s results were incomplete, and did not show the amount of THC in the product.

Brittney Griner shakes hands with her lawyer Alexander Boykov.EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty

Griner’s hearings have included testimony from members of the Russian pro basketball team she plays for in the offseason, UMMC Yekaterinburg, in which theyspoke highly of Griner’s contributions. The director of the team, Maksim Ryabkov, testified to Griner’s “outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to the strengthening [of] the team’s spirit,” the basketball star’s lawyer said.

Grineralso testified in another hearingthat Russian officials did not read any rights to her when she wasarrested at the Moscow airport for possession of cannabis oil in February, according toThe Washington Post.

Brittney Griner holds up a photo of her teammates while in court.EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty

While Griner said a translator at the airport told her where to go, nobody explained to her what was happening, and she described the general translation services offered to her during her months-long detainment in Russia as “inadequate.”

“I remember one time there was a stack of papers that [the translator] needed to translate for me. He took a brief look and then said the exact words were, ‘Basically you are guilty,’ " Griner testified.

Griner was originally detained and arrested on Feb. 17 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport after a customs dog indicated there were drugs in the player’s carry-on bag.

While the star athlete awaits a verdict in her trial, theBiden administration is still working on a striking a dealwith Russian officials to bring Griner andPaul Whelan, another American imprisoned in the country, home.

Brittney Griner.KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty

Last Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration offered a “substantial” deal to Russia to secure the pair’s release.

The U.S. reportedly offered to swap the two for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, and Russian officials have also asked the U.S. to include a convicted murder and former Russian spy named Vadim Krasikov, according toCNN.

Both the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, and a Defense Department spokesperson have said Russia made this counter-proposal in “bad faith,” according to CNN andESPN.

source: people.com