This is a heavy verdict.
Very heavy.
Nine years in prison and a 1 million ruble ($16,590) fine.
This Thursday, August 4, in a court in the suburbs of Moscow, American basketball player Brittney Griner listened to the sentence, with a serious face.
Immediately after the announcement of the verdict, the President of the United States, Joe Biden strongly denounced this conviction.
"This is unacceptable and I call on Russia to release her immediately so that she can be reunited with her wife, relatives and teammates," he urged in a statement.
In the wake of her conviction, the basketball player announced to appeal this court decision, "senseless", according to her lawyers.
Last February, she was arrested at Moscow airport in possession of cannabis vaping liquid.
She was immediately imprisoned on the grounds of “drug trafficking”.
With the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the American basketball star has become, despite herself, a collateral victim of the geopolitical crisis between Washington and Moscow.
"This highlights our very significant concern about the Russian legal system and the Russian government's use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda by using individuals as political pawns," said US Secretary of State Anthony. Blinken.
On Friday August 5, Russia announced that it was "ready" to discuss a prisoner exchange.
Last week, the United States offered to exchange a famous Russian arms dealer held in the United States, Viktor Bout, for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, another American sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for espionage.
A few hours after the verdict, Brittney Griner's WNBA team, the Mercury Phoenix, played a game against the Connecticut Sun.
At the end of the meeting, the teammates of the 31-year-old player wanted to express their concern and sadness.
“Nobody even wanted to play today.
How to approach the game and the field with a clear mind?
And the whole group was crying before the game.
Because we try to honor her, to go out and play hard for her, ”launched a moved Mercury Phoenix player Skylar Diggins-Smith.