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W.N.B.A. Star Brittney Griner’s Trial Resumes in Russia (419 hits)

W.N.B.A. Star Brittney Griner’s Trial Resumes in Russia
Dan Bilefsky, Ivan Nechepurenko and Tania Ganguli -

The trial of Brittney Griner is scheduled to resume on Thursday in a courtroom outside of Moscow, where the American basketball star — now one of the world’s most famous prisoners — is facing a possible prison sentence on drug charges.

Ms. Griner pleaded guilty last week after the Russian authorities accused her of having a vape cartridge with hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow on Feb. 17. The guilty plea could potentially accelerate her case’s conclusion, clearing a path for either a deal with the United States to free her or, perhaps, a request for clemency.

But the harshest outcome — a possible 10-year sentence in a Russian penal colony — remains on the table despite the contention by Ms. Griner’s lawyers that she packed the smoking cartridges by mistake.

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With legal experts saying that a guilty verdict is all but a foregone conclusion in a justice system that heavily favors the prosecution, Ms. Griner’s chances at freedom could depend on whether the Washington, despite its acrimonious relations with Moscow, can make a deal for her release.

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