Brittney Griner Is Sentenced to 9 Years in a Russian Penal Colony
Channel: Papa Daddy Unscripted
Date: 05/08/2022

President Biden called the sentence “unacceptable” and vowed to pursue all avenues to bring the American basketball star home. Her case has become mired in the conflict between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine.

A Russian judge on Thursday sentenced the American basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony after finding her guilty of bringing illegal drugs into Russia, according to her lawyers. The sentencing ended a closely watched trial that her supporters say made her a pawn in a tense geopolitical showdown over the war in Ukraine.

The guilty verdict was virtually preordained in a legal system in which defendants are rarely acquitted. It leaves Ms. Griner’s fate subject to diplomatic negotiations between Russia and the United States. The countries have been discussing the possibility of a prisoner exchange that would bring Ms. Griner home from Russia, where she has been detained since mid-February.