US basketball star Brittney Griner pleads guilty in Russian court to charges of carrying banned drugs #basketball #star #Brittney #Griner #pleads #guilty #Russian #court #charges #carrying #banned #drug #substance OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
American basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on the second day of the trial on charges of alleged drug smuggling, Griner’s lawyers said on Thursday, July 7.
While Griner pleaded guilty, she said she had no intention of committing a crime, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
Griner, 31, who played in Russia during the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) off-season, was arrested Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of narcotics, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The next hearing is on July 14.
According to RIA Novosti, Griner told the court through her interpreter that she had no intention of carrying luggage containing hash oil, but this was a result of her “rushing to pack”.
Griner says she pleads guilty. She had no intention of carrying drugs, no intention of committing a crime, while she was packing [her luggage] hurry,” her interpreter said in court, RIA Novosti reported.
According to a source close to Griner, the decision to plead guilty was made by her alone. But in recent weeks, Griner, her family, lawyers and experts discussed the decision at length, saying a plea could ultimately lead to a shorter sentence.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Brittney Griner’s wife Cherelle on Wednesday. Griner wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday that she fears she could be detained indefinitely in Russia.
Asked by out-of-court reporters if Griner can contact her wife, Griner’s attorney Maria Blagovolina said: “This can be in the form of a phone call. Unfortunately, the fact that Brittney is now going to court makes it logistically difficult to arrange.”
With Griner either traveling to court from her detention center north of Moscow or being held by the court at the detention center in Khimki, Blagovolina added that “technically we haven’t been able to organize it yet.”
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