On Tuesday, October 25th, a Russian court denied the most recent appeals made to Brittney Griner’s nine-year sentencing. While her legal team assures that it will bring their appeal to a higher court, precedent shows that Russian courts are highly unlikely to make any further changes. Her situation instead lies in the hands of continued effort from the United States (U.S.) government and sustained national attention.
Griner, best known for her success as an eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association (W.N.B.A.) All-Star, has been detained in Russia for the past eight months after being found guilty of drug smuggling and possessing cannabis. She had been stopped near a Moscow airport and was found carrying vape cartridges in her suitcase, which she showed were for medicinal purposes and she had been accidentally travelling with them. Russian officials determined that the 0.702 grams of cannabis oil found on her constituted a “significant” amount of the drug, and she received a nine-year sentence. Although this amount is legal in her home state of Alabama, marijuana of all forms is illegal in Russia and has a maximum sentence of ten years. While her sentence is considered somewhat harsh for a first-time offender, typical sentences can range from five to ten years.
Given that Griner is a publicly known American figure, and her initial arrest in February occurred during a time of escalating tensions as Russia began to invade Ukraine, many doubt that the case proceeded fairly and impartially, as Russian officials are claiming. U.S. Cannabis Council CEO Steven Hawkins stated, “cannabis possession, alleged or real, is routinely used as a pretext by law enforcement around the world to target disfavored individuals and groups” and that, “Brittney Griner must not be used as a pawn by Russia.”
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claims that her trial and sentencing are purely based on the facts of the drug’s illegality in Russia, with no political motives behind the arrest: “The facts show that the eminent athlete was detained with illegal drugs that contained narcotic substances. Russian legislation does have laws that provide for punishments for such crimes,” and “We cannot call her a hostage. Why should we call her a hostage?”
As a response, U.S. President Joe Biden labeled Griner’s charges as a “wrongful detainment,” and announced that bringing Griner home has become a significant goal of the administration. With Griner hitting essentially a dead-end through the Russian legal system, the U.S. government has worked on alternative routes, notably offering a prisoner swap that had most recently been successful in bringing home U.S. Marine pilot Trevor Reed. However, Griner’s exchange has been a low priority to the Russian government; showing low receptiveness to the U.S.’s offers of exchange, likely deeming her case a much lower priority than the current war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the prisoner swap received backlash after an anonymous person involved in the discussions revealed that the U.S government is considering offering Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout is currently serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to the terrorist group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. This information has received some backlash within the U.S., notably former president Donald Trump saying, “absolutely one of the worst in the world, and [Bout’s] gonna be given his freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs.”
Griner’s position as a highly publicized figure played a heavy role in her initial arrest, but is also largely sustaining national attention within the U.S.. Her individual experience cannot be left by the wayside of the larger political connotations of her situation, and the extreme conditions she has been experiencing are not to be taken lightly. She has had little ability to voice her own perspective on the situation, but the few instances in which she has must be uplifted.
The mental toll taken on Griner must not be forgotten. Various factors play into the severity of her state, as her supporters point out. Firstly, her detainment and trial dates were constantly pushed back, creating uncertainty and instability. Additionally, her ability to communicate with family and the American public has been incredibly limited, coming at seemingly arbitrary moments, as Cherelle recalls. Other conditions include linguistic isolation, Russia’s anti-gay laws, and even the physical conditions of being held in a prison facility not meant to accommodate her 6-foot-9 frame or her exercise needs.
In speaking to “CBS Morning,” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said they had only had two phone calls throughout the eight months of Griner’s detainment. About their first call which occurred after six months of detainment, Cherelle said, “It was just so delightful just to hear her voice,” and she thought her wife was okay and that they “could survive this.” However, after a second phone call, her concerns had grown exponentially: “It was the most disturbing phone call I’d ever experienced. […] You could hear that she was not okay.”
“I feel like my life just doesn’t matter,” Griner’s wife recalls her saying. In a handwritten letter to Biden, Griner’s alarming state is laid bare: “I’m terrified I might be here forever […] please don’t forget about me and the other American detainees.” After the harsh blow of the rejected appeal, action from the U.S. is crucial, and vocalized empathy from the public is vital. Her situation may be significant to the fate of relations between the U.S. and Russia, but that does not mean that her personal experiences and suffering are of any less importance.
Edited by Riyana Karim Hajiani
Justine Delangle is in her first year at McGill University, pursuing a B.A. in International Development Studies. She is a first time staff writer for Catalyst, with an interest in the politics of cultural power.