Russian prosecutor seeks nine-and-a-half years in prison for Britney Griner

Russia A court outside Moscow, asked by prosecutors in the Almost six months after his arrest and subsequent detention at a Moscow airport, his trial is drawing to a close. The incident reached the highest level of US-Russian diplomacy. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison. A conviction seems all but certain given that he admitted to having e-cigarette cartridges with hemp oil in them, but the judge said he would be fine with the sentence.

A lawyer at the Phoenix Mercury Center and two Time Olympic gold medalists suspected she had criminal intent. They pursued a strategy to bolster Greiner's claim that the canister ended up in her luggage because she packed too quickly. Presented witnesses and written testimony from a doctor who said he had prescribed cannabis to her for pain treatment.

Maria Bragovolina, an attorney for . , medical marijuana is legal. Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko alleged that Griner deliberately stuffed him with cannabis oil.

It is not known when the verdict will be announced.

Before her trial began in July, the State Department decided to remove her from prison if she was not released. "Wrongfully detained," moved her case under the oversight of the president's special envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government's chief hostage negotiator.

And last week, Secretary of State Anthony Brinken met with Russian Secretary of State Sergei Lavrov to urge Griner and Paul Whelan to accept a deal involving Americans imprisoned in Russia. The spy conviction will go free.

The Lavrov-Blinken call marked the highest level of contact known between Washington and Moscow since Russia sent troops to Ukraine more than five months before him. . A direct approach to Greiner is at odds with US efforts to isolate the Kremlin.

Those familiar with the proposal say it envisions trading Griner and Whelan for a notorious arms dealer Viktor BoutRelease Greiner, which highlights the public pressure facing the White House.

White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that Russia had responded "viciously" to the US government's offer. This is a counteroffer that U.S. officials do not view as serious. She declined to elaborate.

and said they disrespected Russian law. They remained poker-faced and urged Washington to discuss the issue through "quiet diplomacy that does not disclose speculative information."

In a handwritten letter from Griner delivered to the White House , a WNBA player stated that he would I am writing about how scared I am of what might happen. She was imprisoned "forever" in Russia. 

In:
• Anthony Blinken
• Marijuana
• Sports
• Arizona
• Britney Greiner
• Russia
• Carine Jean-Pierre
• Medical Marijuana
• Basketball
• Moscow
• Crime