Brittney Griner news – update: WNBA star heads to penal colony where abuse, forced work common

Speaking to reporters outside the Moscow courtroom where US basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal was rejected, lawyers for the WNBA player said they hoped that she could find freedom through a prisoner exchange overseen by her country’s government.

“We hope that an exchange is possible,” said defence lawyer Alexander Boykov on Tuesday, adding that his team plans to speak with Ms Griner in the next couple of days.

Ultimately, he noted, the decision now lies with Ms Griner about whether she wants her legal team to pursue a second appeal of the verdict that will keep her behind bars for eight more years, after her pre-trial detention time served knocked off a few months of her nine-year sentence.

Brittney Griner’s lawyers said in a prepared statement that their client’s chief fear right now is that she will be forced to serve out the full nine-year sentence, Reuters reported.

“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 statement read.

They added that it take some time before the 32-year-old was relocated to a prison colony, where she has been sentenced to serve the remainder of her nine-year sentence.

The US Embassy in Moscow took to Twitter on Tuesday to react to the news that Brittney Griner’s hearing had ended with the Russian court rejecting her defence team’s request for an acquittal or reduction in her nine-year prison sentence.

“Another sad day for the rule of law in Russia. Ms. Griner’s excessive and disproportionate sentence of 9 years remains. The U.S. government continues to consider Brittney wrongfully detained,” tweeted the embassy’s official Twitter account.

ICYMI: Throughout Tuesday’s proceedings, Brittney Griner’s lawyers argued that her punishment was excessive, highlighting how similar cases in the country had amounted to much less severe sentences of five years. About a third of those cases, they noted, were granted parole.

Their efforts to acquit or reduce the WNBA star’s nine-year prison sentence would prove fruitless, as shortly after the hearing concluded the judge presiding over the proceeding announced that the Russian court would be upholding the sentence handed down in August.

Read the full report from The Independent here.

David Axelrod, a former Obama-era White House official who served as the former president’s senior advisor, compared Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia on Tuesday to that of a “prisoner of war”.

“Poor ⁦@brittneygriner⁩ effectively has become a prisoner of war--a tragic pawn in a larger game,” tweeted the former chief strategist for Barack Obama‘s presidential campaigns after learning that the WNBA star’s appeal to have her prison sentence reduced or acquitted had been rejected by a Moscow court.

ICYMI: US State Department spokesperson Ned Price spoke with CNN on Tuesday, shortly after a Russian court upheld its nine-year prison sentence of WNBA star Brittney Griner and blasted the proceeding as a “sham” and a “sad day for justice in Russia”.

The spokesperson added that the US continues to “engage with the Russians,” with conversations taking place as recently as the past few days.

“We are continuing to urge them to engage, and to engage seriously on this because we want to see Paul [Whelan], we want to see Brittney [Griner] returned to their loving families,” he said, highlighting the other American who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

Watch the full clip below:

ICYMI: The WNBA star’s lawyers said their client will be transferred to a Russian penal colony in the next few months.

Johanna Chisholm has the story.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, 32, has been detained in Russia since February after illegal cannibas oil was allegedly found in her luggage by officials at a Moscow airport.

Her detainment occurred shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly more difficult to secure her release.

Ms Griner’s family, friends and fans – alongside many public figures – have been calling on Russia to free her for months and for the US State Department to intervene.

She pleaded guilty to drug charges in July before being sentenced to nine years behind bars the following month.

An appeal hearing in Russian court was held on Tuesday. Despite Maria Blagovolina, one of the lawyers representing Ms Griner, arguing that the “punishment imposed on Griner does not correspond to the gravity of the crime,” a Russian court denied Ms Griner’s appeal to reduce her prison sentence.

Here’s everything we know about the ordeal:

With the news that Brittney Griner’s appeal to have her nine-year prison sentence acquitted or reduced was rejected by a Russian court on Tuesday, colleagues and peers from across the basketball world began sharing their tributes to the detained 32-year-old.

“a sister, daughter, wife, teammate, friend, Olympian, activist, community leader, champion… that should be at home with her loved ones. 250 days too many,” tweeted Natalie Achonwa, a Canadian WNBA player with the Minnesota Lynx.

Bria Nicole Hartley, a French-American professional basketball player for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, tweeted, “We miss you and we love you BG,” while Emma Meesseman, who plays in both the Russian Premier League and the WNBA with the Chicago Sky, wrote, “BG should be with her family,” alongside the hashtag #FreeBG.

Kia Nurse, Ms Griner’s teammate on the Phoenix Mercury and a Canadian basketball player, tweeted, my heart goes out to BG and her loved ones. We love you and we miss you. Bring her home,” with the hashtag #WeareBG

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The president of the Phoenix Mercury, the WNBA team that Brittney Griner plays for, called for bringing the eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year home after learning of her appeal being rejected on Tuesday.

“It’s hard to say she’s doing well, given the circumstance ... unfortunately we were hoping for some mercy today and we didn’t receive any of that,” said president Vince Kozar.

“This is a reminder that there are things that are a lot more important than basketball and Brittney coming home is at the very, very, very top of that list for all of us, even if she comes home tomorrow and never plays again,” he said when asked about the very real possibility that the 32-year-old might never play in the WNBA again.

Watch the full clip here: