Victorious: WNBA Star Britney Griner serves 294 days of an 9 Year Russian sentencing,
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Britney Griner early release from a Russian prison sentence due to the intercession of U.S. President Joe Biden is an inspiring one.
However, due to mounting pressure from the United States, President Biden personally intervened, issuing a pardon and securing Griner's early release. This allowed her to be reunited with her family, after facing a year of isolation in the Russian penal system.
American basketball star Britney Griner was set to serve 9 years in jail after a court in Russia found her in possession of
two vape cartridges containing marijuana oil in her luggage at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.
Griner, 31, a centre for Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) league side Phoenix Mercury, was detained by Russian customs officials for possessing the illegal substance on February 17 after landing in Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the off-season.
Griner’s trial began in early July with her conviction largely expected, more so after Griner went ahead to plead guilty to possessing the vape cartridges arguing that she made an “honest mistake” though she didn’t “conspire or plan to commit this crime.”
However, it’s the severity of punishment – close to a decade in one of the most brutal penal colonies, a remote settlement away from large human population and harsh surroundings – that sent shockwaves to many places. Coming as it does, all this is against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in which the United States is backing Ukraine, and it’s a dispute with a deeply rooted political hue.
The past detentions have been used, primarily to advance many of the country’s strategic and political goals. However, rarely such detentions have been used to oversee an individual such as the high profile Britney Griner.
Griner is considered one of the best and the most dominant female players to ever take part in the game,
she’s a four-time EuroLeague titlist with Yekaterinburg, a two-time FIBA World Cup winner, a double Olympic champion, a WNBA victor with Mercury and an eight-time WNBA All-Star.
Twelve WNBA players, including Griner, competed in Russia and Ukraine. However, all the 12 returned after the war started, but not her. After a brief period of U.S. government officials had remained silent, the situation deteriorated to the point where President Joe Biden had went public discussing it, setting the ground for "hostage diplomacy" with Russia.
The stakes were so high that it was apparently one of the subjects covered at a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It was their first direct discussion since the war started in late February.
While the United States has referred to Griner's arrest and subsequent conviction as an instance of "wrongful imprisonment," Russia had maintained that the case was an example of the nation's law following its own course.
At first, a good faith negotiation to win her freedom seemed unlikely given the deteriorating state of ties between the United States and Russia. As the case tended to get even more intense, Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer and responsible for the murders of thousands, were also, awarded his freedom in the negotiation, to be exchange for Griner.
Since her release, Griner has become a powerful advocate for the fair and just treatment of prisoners in Russia, speaking out against the arbitrary and cruel justice system in the country. She has also called on the US government to take more proactive measures to ensure the protection of US citizens abroad. No one in the world should be punished for any GOD given HERB. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that even when life throws us into difficult circumstances, there is always hope and support available if we have the courage to look for it and stand for what we believe in.
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