Hope for a prisoner exchange: the Russian court rejected Greiner's appeal

The WNBA player imprisoned in Russia petitioned for a reduced sentence, but was refused: "People who committed more serious crimes got less than me," she claimed at the hearing

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10/25/2022

Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 6:05 p.m

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Video: Brittany Greiner in court in Russia (Reuters)

The Russian judicial system today (Tuesday) rejected the appeal of basketball player Brittany Greiner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison two and a half months ago after she was caught with a device for vaporizing cannabis when she landed at an airport in Moscow last February.

Lawyers for the former WNBA star petitioned for a reduced sentence, but were denied.

United States President Joe Biden has already demanded Greiner's release from prison in Russia, which was defined as illegal in America, but the rejection of the appeal means that in order to bring the athlete home, a prisoner exchange will probably be required.

As part of the appeal hearing on her behalf today, in which she appeared on screen, Greiner again apologized for the offense, regarding which she explained at the trial that it was not done with criminal intent, when her representatives even presented as evidence at the time a prescription for cannabis that the basketball player received to treat knee pain.

Greiner and her lawyers argued that the verdict against her was unfair and unjustified under the Russian constitution, and urged the court to acquit her.

"I've been here for eight months, and people who committed more serious crimes got less than what I was sentenced to," Greiner said today at the hearing.

The Russian court did not consider.

Greiner on appeal (Photo: GettyImages, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP)

The American, who celebrated her 32nd birthday last week, shares a prison cell with two other women, is allowed to go out to air out once a day for an hour and shower twice a week, according to her lawyers.

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