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BREAKING: American basketball player detained in Russia pleads guilty to drug smuggling

The U.S. basketball star admitted to the charges, although she acknowledged that she did not intend to commit any crime

By ADN America Staff

July 7, 2022 12:51pm

Updated: July 7, 2022 1:06pm

WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges at a trial in Russia and now faces up to 10 years in prison. At Griner's hearing Thursday, the 6-foot-6 center was led into the courtroom in handcuffs with a printed photo of her wife, Cherelle Griner.

"I would like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I did not want to break the law," Griner said, speaking in English that was later translated into Russian for the court, according to a Reuters reporter present in the courtroom. "I would like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare," she added.

Griner explained the cannabis oil made her way to the suitcase as she packed in a hurry. The next hearing of the trial, in which the sentencing is expected, will be held next July 14.

In Thursday's session, the court took statements from two witnesses for the prosecution who participated in the search of the athlete's belongings at the Russian customs.

Chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Russia Elizabeth Rood handed the basketball player a letter from U.S. President Joe Biden. 

"I managed to have a conversation with Ms. Griner in the courtroom. She told me that she is eating well, has the possibility to read books and assured me that, taking into account the circumstances, everything is going well for her,” she told reported. “Most importantly, I managed to give Mrs. Griner a letter from President Biden and she managed to read that letter.”

The U.S. president telephoned Brittney Griner's family on Wednesday after he received numerous criticisms for not having responded earlier to a letter sent by the athlete on Monday. According to the White House, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Griner's wife, Cherelle, to assure her that they are working to free her wife as soon as possible, as well as other Americans "unjustly" arrested in Russia. Biden also read Cherelle the draft of the letter he wrote to Griner.

The U.S. considers the athlete to have been "wrongfully" detained, and her guilty plea could be more of a legal strategy than a truthful admission of wrongdoing. Sources told ESPN that the guilty plea was a strategy intended to facilitate a prisoner exchange that could result in the Russian detainees being returned to their home country.

Griner's representative, Lindsay Kagawa, recently confirmed that she hoped "the White House will do whatever it takes to bring her home." However, such a release appears contingent on a deal between the U.S. and Russia.

The two countries could negotiate a swap in which Russia would release the basketball player if the U.S. government does the same with Russian arms dealer Viktor But. The so-called "merchant of death" was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the US.

The Kremlin warned that the "exaggeration" over the Brittney Griner case would not help. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "letters between Biden and Griner do not help" and claims that "prisoner exchanges with the U.S. are difficult."

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