American women’s basketball player Brittney Griner will not be coming home sooner than hoped after a Russian court upheld its initial August 4th ruling. Griner, who was convicted of bringing hashish oil into Russia, was convicted and sentenced in May, but an appeal was submitted in the hopes that her sentence would be reduced or thrown out. However, her appeal was denied and she will begin serving her full nine-year sentence immediately.
American basketball star Brittney Griner will not be coming home sooner than hoped after a Russian court upheld its initial August 4th ruling. Griner, who was convicted of bringing hashish oil into Russia, was convicted and sentenced in May, but an appeal was submitted in the hopes that her sentence would be reduced or thrown out. However, her appeal was denied and she will begin serving her full nine-year sentence immediately.
Read More: White House Pens Statement On Brittney Griner’s Appeal Denial
Griner has had a strong supporter in her wife, Cherelle Griner, who has been in touch with not only Brittney but the Biden Administration during the court proceedings. In a recent interview with ABC’s The View, Cherelle spoke out about the ruling and stated, “I understand being in the field of law that every state, every country has their own rules, but this is just absurd.”
Cherelle continued: “This could happen to anybody and we should be praying that we have a country that recognizes the importance of that and are willing to actually go get our Americans and bring them back home.”
Read More: Brittney Griner’s Sentence Upheld Following Appeal
Griner, who played for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was detained at a Russian airport in February 2022. It was discovered she had vape cartridges and cannabis oils in her luggage, which is illegal in the country. A week later, Russia invaded Ukraine, and many believe due to America’s support of the latter, Griner’s detainment and harsh sentence were due to political motivation.
Cherelle Griner has spoken at length about the trial, often keeping the public up to date daily about her wife’s mental and emotional well-being. In her interview with The View, Cherelle also stated the motion of denying her wife’s appeal left her in complete disbelief.
She added that there are people in Russia who have been convicted of murder whose “sentence was way less than B.G.”
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