Russian court denies Brittney Griner’s appeal of nine year prison sentence
A Russian court has denied Brittney Griner’s appeal of her nine-year prison sentence. Back in August, the court sentenced Griner to nine years in a penal colony and fined the star a million rubles – approximately $16,300.
The shocking ruling stemmed from her February arrest in which she was accused of carrying hashish oil in her luggage. Shortly after her sentencing, Griner’s lawyers told The New York Times that the verdict was “absolutely unreasonable” and said they “will certainly file an appeal”.
On 25 October, the Moscow Regional Court court held the Olympic athlete’s appeal hearing – which featured Griner participating via video. “I’ve been here almost eight months, and people with more severe crimes have been given less than what I was given,” the beloved basketball player said during the hearing (per CNN). “I really hope the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and my psyche and being away from my family, not being able to communicate.” However despite Griner’s statement and her lawyer’s calling out the court’s unjustified ruling, the judge doubled down on Griner’s original nine-year- prison sentence.
The judge also ruled that the young athlete’s time in detention will be applied to her overall sentence – meaning she’ll be serving just over eight years.
