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Now, Griner is back at the detention center where she was held during her week-long trial as her lawyers vow to appeal the sentence and the Biden administration tries to negotiate her release.
Her lawyers had hoped that Griner’s guilty plea and expressions of remorse would lead to a lighter sentence. He faced 10 years on the charges, and prosecutors asked for a 9.5-year sentence. In addition to her nine-year sentence, Griner must pay a fine of 1 million rubles, which is about $16,400.
“I made an honest mistake and I hope in your decision that my life doesn’t end here,” Griner told the court before the verdict. “I know everyone keeps talking about political pawns and politics, but I hope that’s far away from this courtroom.”
Here’s what’s next for Griner as she awaits her lawyers’ appeal and the US continues to negotiate her release.
Lawyers will appeal the “absurd” verdict
Griner’s legal team will appeal the court’s decision, which they must do within 10 days of the verdict, according to her lawyers, Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina, who is a partner at the law firm Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners.
“We are very disappointed with the verdict. As legal professionals, we believe that the court should be fair to everyone regardless of nationality. The court completely ignored all the defense evidence and most importantly, the guilty plea,” they said in a statement.
They called the verdict “absolutely absurd” and persisted in declaring that the ruling was “contrary to existing legal practice” in Russia.
Blagovolina told reporters that the average prison term for this type of crime is five years, adding that almost a third of those convicted are paroled.
During the trial, attorneys argued that Griner’s detention was mishandled. Griner testified that she was made to sign documents she did not fully understand and that she was not given adequate translations of the documents into the Russian language.
A defense expert also testified that the examination of the vapor cartridges containing the hemp oil was not in accordance with Russian law.
The US offered a prisoner exchange for Griner’s return
After Griner’s conviction, National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said it was “up to the Russian side” whether the conviction would open the door to prisoner exchange negotiations.
Kirby reiterated Thursday that the U.S. position remains that they want Russia to “get the deal on the table because it’s good, it’s fair, and it’s going to help bring Paul (Whelan) and Britney home.”
Her family and supporters continue to fight for her return
The trade proposal follows months of pressure from Griner’s family and members of the basketball community.
Griner also had the steadfast support of her WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, as well as other members of the basketball community.
Before the start of a game Thursday night between the Mercury and Connecticut Sun, members of the two teams joined hands at center court and held a 42-second moment of silence for Griner, who wears 42 on her jersey. After it was over, people in the crowd started chanting, “Bring her home! Bring her home!”
CNN’s Allie Malloy, Chris Liakos, Natasha Bertrand, Frederik Pleitgen, Eric Levenson, Dakin Andone, Travis Caldwell, Jill Martin, Betsy Klein, Kate Sullivan and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
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