Brittney Griner’s loved ones and friends have been speaking out and calling for her freedom ever since she was first jailed in Russia on drug accusations in February.
U.S.-based supporters have increased public pressure on the Biden administration to extradite her, while members of the Russian team she plays for off-seasonally have testified to defend her character on and off the court.
There have been few public statements from Griner, save from a quick guilty plea in which she admitted to carrying cannabis into Russia, where it is forbidden for both medical and recreational purposes, and said that she had no intention of breaching any laws when she packed her suitcases. If found guilty, she faces a prison sentence of up to ten years.
On Wednesday, the WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist finally took the stand to explain why she had the vape cartridges in the first place, how they wound up in her luggage, and what happened to her after they were discovered..
According to Griner’s lawyer, Alexander Boikov, “she didn’t require a lot of preparation because she just told her narrative and she’s had a lot of time to think about it since February.” “Telling the truth isn’t difficult.”
Her rights were not read to her when she was arrested, Griner claims.
For the playoffs in February, Griner said she had travelled to Russia to play for the UMMC Yekaterinburg club. On an off-season basis, several WNBA athletes participate in international competitions for additional cash (as compared to the higher salaries they earn in the league).
It was on February 17 that she flew to Moscow, amidst rising fears that Russia might invade Ukraine, which it did exactly a week later. To avoid disappointing her teammates, Griner stated that she would be going.
It was at the airport where customs authorities discovered the vape cartridges in Griner’s luggage that she was detained. On Wednesday, she reaffirmed that she hadn’t intended to bring them with her to Russia, and conjectured that she had forgotten about them because she had been worried and in a rush to catch her flight because of her hectic schedule.
Even now, “I don’t know how it got in my bags,” she said during her testimony.
While Griner says she forgot about the vape cartridges, she was very careful of packing her favorite Texas barbecue sauce and seasonings.
She went on to say, “I like to eat a lot.
She then went on to narrate a perplexing event that she had witnessed while traveling through the airport. In order to grasp what the documents were saying, she had to rely on Google Translate rather than the Russian government’s translation service.
After being informed what to do but not why, Griner said: “I didn’t understand what it meant.”
Her rights were also not read to her at the airport, she claimed in an interview.
Although Griner was given the opportunity to consult with a lawyer prior to his interrogation, he claims that the translation issues persisted. “Well, basically it says you’re guilty,” a translator told her as the court handed her a stack of documents.
More witnesses are expected to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, and Griner’s legal team has hinted that their closing arguments would focus on legal infractions.
Boikov told NPR, “The detention, search, and arrest were imperfect.”
Griner received a prescription for medical marijuana to treat his chronic back pain.
For example, she pointed out that she had unintentionally infringed Russian legislation and the hash oil in her luggage was recommended by a doctor for the treatment of severe pain.
As a player for the Phoenix Mercury in Arizona, she has a medical marijuana license, which she uses to treat a variety of severe knee and ankle issues. For a time, she added, she was confined to a wheelchair.
It’s already been established that Griner’s Russian teammate and team doctor have testified about the toll the sport has taken on their bodies and the fact that they have never failed a drug test.
In response to a question about why she uses medical marijuana, Griner stated that the benefits outweigh the risks of other strong medications. At a hearing the day before, Griner’s defense team brought an expert witness to demonstrate how medical marijuana can be used to alleviate chronic pain, but it was cut short owing to the courtroom’s high heat.
As recently as February, Griner said she had used medical marijuana for the first time in a while. Because it may potentially disqualify a team and damage a player’s career, she vowed she would never use it during competition.
She once said, “My career is everything to me.” “All of my time, energy, and resources have been devoted to this cause. In the winter, I’m alone for six months of the year. For the sake of my career and my team, there is nothing I won’t do.”
One step closer to a verdict amid the trial’s sluggish pace.
Griner has been ordered imprisoned by a Russian judge for the duration of her trial, which according to her attorneys might be completed by the middle or end of August.
According to the Biden administration, bringing Griner back to the United States is a top priority. There is an interest in a prisoner swap from Russia, which argues her case is not political, but the trial is still ongoing.
Because Russian criminal courts have a documented conviction rate of 99 percent, some legal experts believe Griner’s guilty plea is an attempt to expedite the proceedings and gain mercy.
Maynes was in Russia at the time. Treisman was in Washington, D.C. at the time.