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A Russian court docket sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to 9 years in jail and fined her 1 million rubles ($16,590) on drug fees on Thursday.
Griner, 31, was arrested on Feb. 17 after officers at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport discovered hashish vape cartridges in her baggage. The 2-time Olympic champion was on her method to the town of Yekaterinburg, close to Russia’s Ural mountains, the place she has performed for the native ladies’s crew since 2014.
Because the begin of the Russian invasion of Ukraine — which was launched per week after her arrest — Griner’s case has added to historic tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The U.S. has stated Griner was wrongfully detained and has vowed to safe her launch. Washington revealed final month it had proposed a prisoner swap to Russia wherein the basketball participant and imprisoned former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan can be exchanged for convicted arms supplier Viktor Bout, who’s at the moment in a U.S. jail.
Here’s what we all know in regards to the high-profile case and the potential prisoner swap.
Does Griner have any authorized choices left?
Griner’s authorized crew stated Thursday that it’ll enchantment the ruling made by a court docket within the city of Khimki outdoors Moscow.
“We have to use each authorized alternative that we’ve, and enchantment is certainly one of these alternatives,” Individuals journal quoted Griner’s lawyer Maria Blagovolina as saying hours after choose Anna Sotnikova introduced the decision.
The basketball star’s protection attorneys stated the punishment of 9 years — one yr lower than the utmost attainable sentence — goes in opposition to the standard follow in Russia, the place related offenses are routinely punished by about 5 years in jail.
Whereas Griner’s attorneys have 10 days from the time the decision was introduced to file the enchantment, its subsequent evaluate may take a number of months.
What a few prisoner trade?
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken introduced final week that the U.S. had made a “substantial proposal” to Moscow “weeks in the past” in an effort to free Griner and imprisoned former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Blinken subsequently held a cellphone dialog along with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, although there was no breakthrough. Nevertheless, following Griner’s conviction Thursday, the Russian authorities introduced its readiness to maneuver ahead with negotiations.
“We’re prepared to debate this topic, however solely inside the framework of the [communication] channel established by presidents Putin and Biden,” Lavrov stated Friday.
Although neither facet has confirmed the names of these to be swapped, CNN reported final month that “individuals briefed on the matter” recognized Russian arms supplier Bout as who the united stateswas providing for trade.
Who’s Viktor Bout?
A 55-year-old arms trafficker, Bout is at the moment serving a 25-year sentence in a jail in Illinois. Typically dubbed the “Service provider of Dying” for being one of many world’s most infamous arms smugglers, he’s believed to have aided each rebels and internationally acknowledged governments in an array of battle zones, together with in Afghanistan, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bout was arrested in 2008 in Thailand as a part of an operation carried out collectively by the Thai police, the U.S. and Interpol. He was extradited to the U.S. two years later and convicted of conspiring to kill Individuals, supplying anti-aircraft missiles and aiding a terrorist group.
Why does Bout matter to Russia?
Russian authorities tried to dam Bout’s 2010 extradition to the U.S., in accordance with U.S. Embassy cables revealed by WikiLeaks.
“He clearly was essential. And it is my understanding that President [Vladimir] Putin himself was concerned in attempting to get him dwelling,” retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Company official Rob Zachariasiewicz informed ABC Information final week.
There was a lot hypothesis about Bout’s hyperlinks to Russia’s intelligence companies, although this has by no means been confirmed.
How seemingly is the swap?
Whereas some consider {that a} prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. might be executed inside weeks, Jeff Hawn, a non-resident fellow on the New Traces Institute for Technique and Coverage in Washington, stated it may take for much longer.
“Hopefully it may be concluded in weeks however realistically there’s a good likelihood it’d drag on for months and probably even years,” Hawn informed The Moscow Instances.
Whereas the Justice Division is unlikely to dam the trade as a result of Bout has already served “a great portion of the sentence,” diplomats’ makes an attempt on each side to “maximize the worth” of the deal may trigger delays, in accordance with Hawn.
“Both Russia or the U.S. may see the willingness of the opposite to trade as the chance to extend their calls for and that may set the negotiations again to zero.”
