Greiner was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Police said they were carrying steam canisters with hemp oil. Phoenix Mercury center and two-time US Olympic gold medalist could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale drug trafficking. Less than 1% of those charged in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike the US, acquittals can be overturned. At a preliminary hearing Monday in Moscow’s Khimki suburb, Greiner’s detention was extended for another six months, until December 20. Photographs taken by the Associated Press, including one of the few close-ups of Griner since her Feb. 17 arrest, showed the 31-year-old handcuffed and looking straight ahead, in contrast to a previous court appearance where she had her head bowed and covered. hooded. He refused to answer questions from journalists in English as he was being led to the courthouse, according to a video shown in the Russian media. Russian media later reported that Griner’s lawyers would not comment on how their client planned to support them. The athlete’s detention and trial are at an extremely low point in Moscow-Washington relations. Greiner was arrested less than a week before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, which has exacerbated already high tensions between the two countries. The invasion led to sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States, and Russia denounced the United States for sending weapons to Ukraine. Greiner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion, was arrested at Moscow airport in February on charges of carrying cannabis oil vapor cartridges into her luggage, which could carry a 10-year prison sentence. AFP via Getty Images Amid tensions, Greener’s supporters kept quiet in hopes of a peaceful solution until May, when the State Department classified her as an illegal detainee and assigned her case to his special envoy for hostage-taking. head of US government negotiator. Greiner’s wife, Serel, urged President Joe Biden to secure her release, calling her a “political pawn.” “It was good to see her in some of these pictures, but it’s difficult. “Every time it is a reminder that their teammate, their friend, is unjustly imprisoned in another country,” Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygard said on Monday. The coach hoped that Biden “would take steps to ensure that he would return home”. Griner supporters have encouraged an exchange of prisoners such as the one in April that brought home veteran Marine Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking. The proceedings, scheduled to begin on Friday, come about 4 1/2 months after she was arrested for possession of cannabis at an airport while traveling to play for a Russian team. Russian media have repeatedly speculated that they could trade her for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, nicknamed the “Death Dealer”, who is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to murder and kidnap US citizens. assistance to a terrorist organization. Russia has been rocked by Bout’s release for years. However, the huge discrepancy between the Griner case – which involves the alleged possession of cannabis-containing steam cartridges – and Bout’s global trade in deadly weapons could make such an exchange unpleasant for the United States. Others have suggested he could be traded with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director who is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage that the United States has repeatedly described as an organization. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when asked on CNN on Sunday whether the joint exchange of Griner and Whelan for Bout is being considered, sidestepped the question. “As a general proposition, I have no greater priority than to ensure that Americans who are illegally detained in one way or another around the world return to their homes,” he said. But he said he could not comment “in any detail on what we are doing, except to say that this is an absolute priority”.
