US basketball star Brittney Griner went on trial on Friday, 4½ months after she was arrested on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for a Russian team, in a case that unfolded amid strained relations between Moscow and Washington. The initial hearing, which was postponed until July 7, offered the most extensive public interaction between Griner and reporters since the Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. . Griner, 31, was escorted into the courtroom in the capital’s Khimki suburb while handcuffed, holding a bottle of water and what appeared to be a magazine, and wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt. Police said he was carrying vapor containers of cannabis oil when he was arrested at the airport. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale drug trafficking. State news agency Tass quoted Griner as telling the court she understood the charges against her. Asked by the judge if she wanted to enter a plea, Griner replied, “At this time, no, your honor. At a later date,” according to Mediazona, an independent news website known for its extensive coverage of high-profile court cases. Less than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in American courts, acquittals can be overturned. Two witnesses were questioned by the prosecution: an airport customs official, who spoke in open court, and an unnamed witness in closed court. according to the state news agency RIA-Novosti. The trial was then adjourned, he said, when two more witnesses failed to appear. Alexander Boykov, Griner’s lawyer, said outside court that he did not want to comment on “the specifics of the case and the charges” because it was too early to do so. Boykov also told RIA-Novosti that she exercises and goes for walks in the detention area. Russian website Business FM said Griner, who sometimes smiled at reporters, said she wished she could exercise more and that she struggled because she doesn’t understand Russian. In addition to the WNBA’s Mercury, she played in Russia for UMMC Ekaterinburg. Elizabeth Rudd, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Moscow, was in court and said she spoke with Griner, who is “doing as well as can be expected in these difficult circumstances.” “The Russian Federation has wrongfully detained Brittney Griner,” Rood said. “The practice of illegal detention is unacceptable wherever it occurs and poses a threat to the safety of all who travel, work and live abroad.” He said the US government, from its highest levels, “is working hard to bring Britney and all wrongfully detained US citizens safely home.” In a closed preliminary hearing on Monday, Griner’s detention was extended for another six months, until December 20. Her case is at an extremely low point in Moscow-Washington relations. Griner’s arrest came less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, exacerbating already high tensions between the two countries. The US then imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow and Russia accused the US of sending weapons to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Friday that politics played a role in Griner’s detention and prosecution. “The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited drugs containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters. “Given what I said, it cannot be politically motivated,” he added. Griner’s supporters had kept a low profile in hopes of a quiet resolution until May, when the State Department re-charged her as wrongfully detained and assigned oversight of her case to the president’s special envoy for hostage affairs — effectively the administration’s chief negotiator. of the USA. Griner’s wife, Sherrell, urged President Joe Biden to secure her release, calling her a “political pawn.” “It was good to see her in some of those pictures, but it’s hard. Every time it’s a reminder that their teammate, their friend, is unjustly imprisoned in another country,” Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said Monday. Griner’s supporters have encouraged a prisoner swap like the one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of a drug-trafficking conspiracy. Russian media have repeatedly speculated that she could be traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization. Russia has been agitating for Bout’s release for years. But the stark discrepancy between Griner’s case — which involves the alleged possession of vapor cartridges containing hemp oil — and Bout’s global dealings in lethal weapons could make such an exchange unpalatable to the US Others suggested he could be swapped with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director serving a 16-year sentence for being convicted of spying for what the US has repeatedly described as an organization. — Andrew Katell contributed from New York.
