On February 17, US basketball player Brittney Griner was traveling to Ekaterinburg (Russia) to join her team in preparing for the upcoming season. As she landed at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport, however, she was taken into custody by customs officials who claimed that she was carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her suitcase.
Her arrest was not publicly announced, and a week later Russian forces invaded Ukraine, shortly leading the United States and most Western administrations to impose harsh economic sanctions, marking the start of a major disruption in diplomatic ties between the US and Russia.
Only on March 5, the Russian Federal Customs Service declared that Griner was in custody on drug charges, immediately sparking the fear of the athlete’s loved ones and of the Biden administration. Indeed, Russia has very strict drug laws that do not provide exceptions for cannabis, and it was clear that Griner might face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the administration and the U.S. embassy in Russia were doing everything they could to assist Americans detained in the country and to protect their rights.
Nevertheless, a month after the arrest the prosecutor extended the pre-trial detention until May 19, and a U.S. State Department official revealed that they had not been able to speak to Griner, urging the Russian government to allow contact with all American citizens detained in the country according to international law requirements.
This statement marked a shift away from the low profile the administration had initially kept on the case to prevent the basketball star from becoming a valuable political asset in Putin’s hands. This change in tone seemed to be effective, as only a week later U.S. consular officials, who previously had to rely on updates from Griner’s team of Russian attorneys, were finally able to meet her.
Some of the player’s colleagues in the American Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA, played in the summer) highlighted that around half of WNBA athletes are pushed to compete overseas in the winter just like Griner, as their salaries in Russia are roughly five times higher than in the US. In fact, WNBA stars denounced the great disparity in wages compared to the men’s NBA (where outstanding players make more than 200 times the maximum salary in the WNBA), including Breanna Stewart who said that "WNBA players need to be valued in their country and they won't have to play overseas" (ESPN, 2022).
In April and May, both the WNBA and the NBA stated that they are contributing to the US administration’s efforts to bring the player home, and a number of athletes issued appeals for her freedom. This did not come as a surprise considering that, besides being one of the world’s best in her sport, Griner is widely admired and respected as the most notable openly gay basketball player, and the first to be endorsed by Nike.
Indeed, she came out as gay as soon as she started her professional career, and she is considered a pioneer in the WNBA for her history of confronting discrimination and breaking glass ceilings. Some, however, argue that this might have contributed to make her not only a political pawn during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also a useful target to be used to further Vladimir Putin’s agenda of anti-gay rhetoric and policies.
A major change in the US government’s attitude came on May 3, when the Department of State declared Griner a wrongful detainee and it began setting up a negotiation for her release rather than waiting for a verdict to be issued. It was clear that, as in most wrongful detainment cases, the trial was being used by the Russian government to reach its political outcomes, and that its demands would probably include a prisoner swap.
A few days later, Griner’s pre-trial detention was extended by one month, while TASS (the Russian state news agency) announced that the two countries were negotiating a swap between the basketball star and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in America for financing terrorism. US governments officials were skeptic about the news and believe that the Russian government used it to pressure Washington.
On May 20, the US State Department publicly denounced Moscow for allowing only sporadic visits to American detainees in Russia; at the same time, it urged the Kremlin to “uphold its commitments under the Vienna Convention for consistent and timely access”, which may have been repeatedly violated (ESPN, 2022).
The trial only started in July, and the athlete was accused of possessing and smuggling drugs into the country. Griner soon pleaded guilty to the charges and stated that she inadvertently put the oil in her luggage which was packed in a hurry, and she had no criminal intent. Her guilty plea could be interpreted as a strategic move in view of the fact that most cases in Russia end in convictions.
Nevertheless, the proceedings continued, as admitting guilt does not immediately end a trial under national law. Griner’s lawyers also submitted a letter from a doctor recommending the player use cannabis to treat pain, together with the results of an anti-doping check proving that she did not use any prohibited substances.
Meanwhile, President Biden signed an executive order meant to provide better information to families of US citizens imprisoned abroad and to deter foreign governments from wrongfully detaining Americans through sanctions. This executive order is based on the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, which allows the President to impose sanctions on individuals who arbitrarily detain US citizens.
Moreover, on July 27 U.S. Secretary of State announced that Washington had made a “substantial offer” for the player’s release in early June (Atwood, Perez, & Hansler, 2022). According to CNN, the US offered to exchange Viktor Bout for Griner and Paul Whelan, an American in Russian custody since late 2018 who is serving a 16-year sentence.
The Kremlin, however, replied that prisoner swaps are usually negotiated behind the scenes and any actual trade would only happen after Griner’s trial.
On August 4, the basketball star was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony (close to the maximum of ten years) after prosecutors had asked for a nine years and six months sentence. Shortly after, Griner’s lawyers appealed the decision, claiming that defendants in comparable cases received sentences of five years on average, while around one in three was granted parole.
Although negotiations were expected to accelerate following the conclusion of the trial, it appears that no significant progress was made in the last three months, and on October 17 a senior aide to President Putin declared that the player’s release is not a priority for the Russian government.
One week later, Griner’s appeal was rejected by a Moscow court, which also announced that the time the athlete spent in pre-trial detention will be taken into account, meaning that she is expected to serve approximately eight years in prison. The decision prompted the stark reaction of US national security advisor Jake Sullivan who referred to it as “another sham judicial proceeding” (Roth, 2022).
Griner’s lawyers said that they intend to file a second appeal, although they are aware that their odds of success are negligible.
Many officials are convinced that Russian authorities decided not to actually engage in productive negotiations for a prisoner swap before the US midterm elections of November 8 so as to avoid giving a political victory to the Biden administration.
In fact, Moscow has not made a reasonable counteroffer so far and it even demanded the return of a person that is not in US custody. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, on the other hand, declared that Griner and Whelan’s release still represents a top priority and alternative trades have been proposed to Moscow.
On November 9, Griner’s lawyers announced that the athlete is being moved from a relatively safer Moscow prison to an unknown penal colony. These sites have often been described as labor camps where detainees are forced to work 10-12 hours a day in poor hygienic conditions to earn a scant pay. Under Russian law, Griner’s legal team and the US embassy should be notified once the player arrives at her final destination. Nevertheless, it could take up to two weeks for them to receive this key information.
Griner’s transfer will certainly lead Washington to explore new plans of action, and the next steps may well be the telling ones.
Bibliography
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Chernova, A., Andone, D., & Ullah, Z. (2022, October 25). Russian court upholds Brittney Griner’s drug smuggling conviction. Retrieved November 4, 2022 from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/25/europe/brittney-griner-appeal-hearing/index.html
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Roth, A. (2022, October 25). US basketball star Brittney Griner's appeal rejected by Russian court. Retrieved November 4, 2022 from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/25/us-basketball-star-brittney-griners-appeal-rejected-by-russian-court
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