Key Points
- Lawyers for Brittney Griner have failed in their appeal to overturn her nine-year sentence for possessing cannabis oil
- The US government says it will continue to talk with Russian officials to negotiate for Griner's release,
Lawyers for US basketball star Brittney Griner said her transfer to a penal colony could happen within weeks after her appeal in a Moscow court failed to overturn a nine-year prison term for possessing a small quantity of cannabis oil.
The state prosecutor described the decision to uphold the original court judgment as "fair".
Lawyers for Griner said the sentence is manifestly disproportionate to the quantity of drugs found in Griner's possession on 17 February, a week before Russia deployed troops to invade Ukraine.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) athlete had been in Russia to play a basketball game during the US off-season.
"No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner’s nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law," one of her lawyers, Alexander Boykov, told the court.
"We still think the punishment is excessive and contradicts to the existing court practice," Mr Boykov said in a joint statement with lawyer Maria Blagovolina.
Lawyers for Brittney Griner, Maria Blagovolina (left) and Alexander Boykov (centre), said the sentence is "excessive" and they will be considering further legal appeal options. Source: AAP / Ivan Vodop'janov
What was she accused of?
On 4 August, Griner was convicted in a Moscow court on a charge of attempting to smuggle narcotics into Russia.
The Khimki City Court handed her fine of one million roubles ($25,144) and a jail term of nine-and-a-half years in one of the more than 650 penal institutions in Russia, where prisoners work long hours and survive on as little as four hours of sleep.
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US basketball star Griner sentenced to jail in Russia
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In her closing statement before her conviction was handed down, Griner told the court she had made "an honest mistake".
"That is why I pled guilty to my charges, but I had no intent of breaking the law."
Where does Griner's sentence sit on the spectrum of penalties for the drug charge?
The jail sentence is on the higher end of the range of penalties in the Russian Criminal Code.
A lower-end penalty involves fines and 15-day jail terms for amounts as small as 6 grams of cannabis or two grams of hash. Greater quantities could result in a maximum 10-year penalty.
Griner was found with vape cartridges with 0.7 grams of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on 17 February.
In July, the athlete pleaded guilty to possessing the cannabis oil, saying she had no intention of breaking any Russian laws and had "inadvertently" packed the vape cartridges. She says she uses the drug for medicinal purposes.
The guilty plea was viewed by some analysts as a strategy to facilitate a prisoner swap and a concession that acquittal was not an option.
What concerns are being raised about her case?
Griner has been in jail for more than eight months since her arrest.
When her conviction was handed down in May, the United States government publicly announced a shift in its approach.
Officials said they were actively negotiating her release as an "absolute priority" - and had reclassified her status as "wrongfully detained".
The two-time Olympic basketball gold medallist Brittney Griner was not successful in her appeal of her conviction for possessing cannabis in Russia and now faces the prospect of serving more than nine years in a Russian penal colony. Source: Getty / Kirill Kudryavtsev
The US midterm elections on 8 November are expected to factor in the negotiations, with analysts saying any release deal agreed to by Russia would not happen until after the vote.
That would avoid giving Mr Biden a political win to boost his campaign.
What happens now?
Griner's lawyers Ms Blagovolina and Mr Boykov said they are considering their legal options before it gets to the point where Griner is moved to a penal colony.
"We generally think we must use all the available legal tools, especially given the harsh and unprecedented nature of her verdict," they said.
Griner spent her 32nd birthday behind bars last week. During a meeting with her lawyers she conveyed a message through them to her supporters.
"Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love are definitely helping me," she said.
Ms Blagovolina and Mr Boykov said Griner's main concern right now is to hope the US government succeeds in efforts to secure a deal for her release.
"Brittney’s biggest fear is that she is not exchanged and will have to serve the whole sentence in Russia. She had hopes for today as each month, each day away from her family and friends matters to her," the lawyers' joint statement said.
The Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Sun huddle up together before the game in support of Brittney Griner on 4 August 2022 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Basketball stars, including NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry, have added their voice to calls for Griner's release. Source: Getty / Chris Marion/NBAE
"Ultimately this is about wrongful detainees. These are about Americans; these are about the lives of individuals who have been separated from their families for the better part of a year in the case of Brittney Griner and the better part of four years when it comes to Paul Whelan [a former US Marine jailed in Russia in 2020 on spying charges]," he said in a media briefing after the appeal decision.
How might Griner be treated in prison?
There are concerns about the treatment Griner might face in a penal colony due to her identity not only as American citizen, but also as an openly gay Black woman and high-profile basketballer.
She came out publicly about her sexual orientation at the age of 22 in 2013, at the start of her professional career. Later that year, she became the first openly gay athlete to be sponsored by Nike.
In Russia, the expansion of the so-called "gay propoganda" law in 2013 makes it illegal to talk about the "promotion of non-traditional sexual orientations".
Griner's agent, Lindsay Colas, she has concerns about how Griner would fare in a Russian prison.
"At any moment something might happen, and we must remain focused and unified in our call to return BG to her family immediately," she said in a post on Twitter.
