This is the fourth time Greener has been remanded in custody since she was extended for Saturday before her trial date. Now, he will be detained throughout the trial. The Phoenix Mercury star was arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 for allegedly possessing cannabis after officials said they found hashish vapor cartridges in her luggage. Greener, 31, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale drug trafficking. Brittney Griner’s trial in Russia is set for Friday. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)
Greiner’s possible course back to the United States
After months of speculation, the United States declared Greeneer “unjustifiably detained” by the Russian government in early May. This set in motion the possibility of Griner’s release through negotiations between the United States and Russia. The same negotiator who helped free former Marine Trevor Reed from Russian prison this April, Roger Carstens, also leads the team responsible for Griner’s release. Monday’s hearing complicated things. Russian state media reported that the government would release Greiner in exchange for convicted arms dealer Victor Booth, also known as the “Death Trader.” Bout was arrested in Thailand in 2008, extradited to the United States and sentenced to 25 years in prison for plotting to assassinate a US citizen, handing over anti-aircraft missiles and aiding and abetting a terrorist organization. Carstens declined to comment after the Bout-Griner exchange report. There have also been speculations that the US could trade Bout for Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison on espionage charges in 2018. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to divulge information about possible negotiations for either Griner or Whelan when questioned by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. The story goes on “As a general suggestion, Jake, I have no greater priority than to make sure that Americans illegally detained one way or another around the world return to their homes, including Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner. a number of other countries, “Blinken said.” … I can not comment in detail on what we are doing except to say that this is an absolute priority. “ Griner has been taken into custody with minimal communication via email. The U.S. embassy failed to install Griner in a phone call with its wife, Cherelle, last week. On Friday, Parliament passed a bipartisan resolution calling on Russia to release Greener and grant her access to the US consulate during her detention. “There is not a day that we do not think of Brittney and work to bring her home,” said spokeswoman Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) In a statement. “We will continue to push for her release and make sure she is not forgotten.”
