The detained American basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded responsible to drug prices in a court docket close to Moscow on Thursday, her lawyer stated.
“I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Ms. Griner stated in English, which was then translated into Russian, Reuters reported.
Ms. Griner has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17, accused by the Russian authorities of getting a vape cartridge with cannabis oil in her baggage at an airport close to Moscow.
Aleksandr Boikov, her lawyer, stated cartridges appeared in Ms. Griner’s baggage “because of carelessness.”
“She pleaded guilty, stressing that she was carrying substances prohibited in Russia unintentionally, because she was packing in a hurry,” Mr. Boikov stated.
If Ms. Griner is convicted, she may face up to 10 years in a Russian penal colony. Ms. Griner nonetheless faces formal conviction and sentencing proceedings, and her subsequent day in court docket is scheduled to be July 14.
“Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and B.G.’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence,” Ms. Griner’s authorized group in Russia stated in a assertion on Thursday.
Her responsible plea got here hours after a high Russian diplomat lashed out on the Biden administration for attempting to “foment hype” round her case.
The Russian diplomat, Sergei A. Ryabkov, the deputy overseas minister, stated that the publicity across the case was not serving to Ms. Griner, who American officers say is basically a hostage taken by President Vladimir V. Putin in the run-up to the conflict in Ukraine.
Mr. Ryabkov indicated that Moscow could be ready to negotiate her destiny, however solely after the court docket reached a verdict on the drug prices that have been introduced towards her.
“We have a long-established form of discussing these matters,” Mr. Ryabkov advised reporters on Thursday in Moscow, in accordance to the Interfax information company. “The American side’s attempts to foment hype and make noise in the public environment are understandable, but they don’t help to practically resolve issues.”
After her trial began last week, Ms. Griner sent a handwritten letter to Mr. Biden asking him not to “forget about” her and different American detainees abroad.
Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on Wednesday with Ms. Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, according to a statement launched by the White House.
During the decision, the assertion stated, the president learn a draft of a letter that he deliberate to ship to Brittney Griner. He additionally stated that his administration was pursuing “every avenue to bring Brittney home.”
Speaking outdoors the courtroom on Thursday, Elizabeth Rood, the chargé d’affaires on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, stated she had spoken to Ms. Griner and she or he had been ready to learn the president’s letter.
“She said that she’s eating well, she’s able to read books, and under the circumstances, she’s doing well,” Ms. Rood stated, in accordance to a video posted on Twitter by an NPR correspondent. She added: “I would like again to emphasize the commitment of the U.S. government at the very highest level to bring home safely Ms. Griner and all U.S. citizens wrongfully detained.”
Cherelle Griner has publicly expressed frustration with Mr. Biden and his administration’s efforts to safe her spouse’s launch.
In a assertion to The New York Times on Wednesday, Cherelle Griner stated she was grateful to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris “for the time they spent with me and for the commitment they expressed to getting B.G. home.”
The United States authorities has labeled Brittney Griner as “wrongfully detained” and is working to safe her launch whatever the consequence of the trial. While the Kremlin claims it has no involvement in Ms. Griner’s case, Russian state media stories have indicated that Moscow could press the United States to free a Russian in American custody — just like the convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout — in alternate for her freedom.
Mr. Ryabkov stated that till the conclusion of Ms. Griner’s case, “there are no formal procedural grounds” to talk about additional steps. He hinted, nevertheless, that Moscow was in negotiating over her destiny, claiming that she could be helped by “a serious reading by the American side of the signals that they received from Russia, from Moscow, through specialized channels.”
