Women's National Basketball Association star Brittney Griner, who has been in Russian custody since earlier this year for drug possession, has appealed the guilty verdict as Moscow negotiates a prisoner swap.
Furthermore, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North American Department has addressed the names being discussed in the potential swap. Alexander Darchiev said that Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker who is serving a 52-year-old U.S. prison sentence is among the names being talked about.
Brittney Griner's Appeal
Russian state media TASS said on Saturday that Darchiev was responding to a request to comment on U.S. media reports that American officials had sent a proposal to Moscow about swapping Bout for Griner and Paul Whelan.
Darchiev confirmed the names that have been mentioned in bilateral talks but noted that the issue is quite sensitive and is being discussed by both presidents. He noted that the Russian side has long been seeking the release of Bout, as per CNN.
The situation comes as Griner's legal team has filed an appeal against the Russian court's verdict that sentenced the athlete to nine years in prison. Judge Anna Sotnikova on Aug. 4 delivered the sentence and fined the basketball star 1 million rubles, which is roughly $16,400.
The judge noted that the court took into account Griner's partial admission of guilt, remorse for the deed, state of health, and charitable activities. The two-time U.S. Olympic basketball gold medalist pleaded guilty to drug charges last month, saying that she accidentally packed the drugs while in a hurry.
According to the New York Times, a partner at the law firm that has represented Griner, Maria Blagovolina, confirmed the appeal of the verdict. The defendant's legal team said that the appeal was expected and could take up to three months to be adjudicated.
Potential Prisoner Swap
Russian officials have previously said that all legal avenues must be exhausted before a potential exchange can be discussed. One of Griner's lawyers, Aleksandr Boikov, said that the defense team argued in the appeal that the Khimki court had ignored "serious procedural violations during detention, extraction of physical evidence, arrest, and investigation."
Boikov said that the apparent violations, which were detailed in testimony, meant that the defendant could have been acquitted on procedural grounds, even despite her guilty plea. The verdict did "not correspond to the current legal practice of Russian courts," said the lawyer.
Griner's case has become entangled in the deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States amid Moscow's war on Ukraine. A day after the Russian court's verdict on Griner, American officials said that she was "wrongfully detained" and that her trial was politically motivated.
The WNBA athlete is one of the most accomplished and impressive female basketball players in the world. After an astonishing college career, she became the number one WNBA draft pick, became an ESPY award-winner, an all-American champion, and has helped the U.S. team secure multiple Olympic gold medals, allowing her to be considered to be one of the best to ever play the game, The Guardian reported.
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