Brittney Griner trial - live: Wife describes ‘gut-wrenching time’ in rally with Al Sharpton

The 31-year American basketball star Brittney Griner has appeared in court in Moscow, where she pleaded guilty to a drug charge.

Her detention and charge followed her being stopped at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, while returning to play for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg. A week later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ms Griner pleaded guilty to the charge, but said she had intended to break the law.

Rather, her offence was one of “negligence” and she claims she packed her luggage hastily.

So what happens next? Andrew Buncombe reports for The Independent.

The Rev Al Sharpton has called on the Russian authorities to put the fate of Brittney Griner above the concerns of “national boundaries”.

Read more below:

Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul appeared on MSNBC on Tuesday to discuss Brittney Griner’s letter urging action from President Biden to get her and other Americans detained in Russia back home.

“This is not a terrorist organisation. This is a government, and they should consider this swap. Not just Brittney Griner, as she rightly writes in her letter, but also Paul Whelan and Mark Fogel, another American wrongly detained in Russia,” Mr McFaul told Andrea Mitchell.

President Biden and vice-president Harris spoke on Wednesday with the wife of Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who has been detained in Russia since February.

Ms Griner’s family, including wife Cherelle Griner, have been critical of the White House, saying the president hasn’t done enough to free the Phoenix Mercury player from an unjust detention on minor drug charges.

Josh Marcus reports.

The family of Paul Whelan have said they are “astonished” that US President Joe Biden has not spoken to them personally while he remains detained in Russia.

Elizabeth Whelan, the 49-year-old’s sister, said the Biden administration had not spoken with them since May in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.

Hours earlier, Mr Biden said he and vice president Kamala Harris had spoken with the wife of the WNBA star Britney Griner amid her trial in Moscow and calls from her supporters for her release.

Gino Spocchia reports.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Thursday that “attempts by the American side to make noise in public ... don’t help the practical settlement of issues.”

The White House said President Joe Biden called Brittney Griner’s wife on Wednesday to assure her that he’s doing all he can to obtain the athlete’s release, as soon as possible. They spoke after Biden read a letter from Griner in which she said she feared she’d never return home.

Washington hasn’t made public its strategy in the case and the United States may have little leverage with Moscow because of strong animosity due to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. The State Department has designated Griner as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Asked about the possibility of Griner being swapped for a Russian jailed in the US, Ryabkov, the senior Russian diplomat, noted that until her trial is over “there are no formal or procedural reasons to talk about any further steps.”

He warned that U.S. criticism, including a description of Griner as wrongfully detained and dismissive comments about the Russian judicial system, “makes it difficult to engage in detailed discussion of any possible exchanges.”

“The persistence with which the US administration ... describes those who were handed prison sentences for serious criminal articles and those who are awaiting the end of investigation and court verdicts as ‘wrongfully detained’ reflects Washington’s refusal to have a sober view of the outside world,” Ryabkov snapped.

The Associated Press

US basketball star Brittney Griner will take “full responsibility for her actions” to set an example to her fans, her Russian legal team said after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in a Moscow court on Thursday.

The Olympic gold medallist’s lawyers hope that the plea will help her avoid a severe sentence and enable her to return home sooner.

Shweta Sharma has the story.

Rev Al Sharpton joined Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC on Wednesday to discuss why he is calling on the Biden administration to arrange a prayer visit for faith leaders to meet with WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since February after drugs were 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.

Graig Graziosi recaps what has happened so far.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Ms Griner is in the Correctional Colony No. 1 outside of Moscow, a former orphanage rebuilt a decade ago to serve as a prison for women awaiting trial and women serving their sentences. The Russian government has not confirmed Ms Griner’s whereabouts.

The Times reported that the facility is artifically lit, with “gray painted halls and grim tall walls” and that Ms Griner is also not the only foreign national held at the facility known as IK-1 for drug possession in recent years.

Read on: