Russia judge sentences Griner to nine years in jail
(4 Aug 2022) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP AND SNTV CLIENTS MAY USE ++PLEASE NOTE: AP IS OPERATING IN RUSSIA ACCORDING TO RUSSIAN RESTRICTIONS ON ALL REPORTING RELATED TO THE ONGOING MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE++ ASSOCIATED PRESS Khimki - 4 August 2022 1. Various of American basketball star Brittney Griner listening to the verdict inside the court room 2. Close of Griner with Judge Anna Sotnikova announcing verdict off-screen UPSOUND (Russian): "Under authority of parts 3 and 4 of the article 69 of the Russian Criminal Code, for the totality of crimes committed, by the way of partial addition, Brittney Griner is conclusively sentenced to 9 years in prison and to a fine of 1 million rubbles (approx $16,700)." 3. Griner sitting after the verdict announced STORYLINE: A court in Russia on Thursday convicted U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and sentenced her to nine years in prison and fined her one million rubles (about $16,700). The 31-year-old, a two-time U.S. Olympic champion and an eight-time all-star with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, listened with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the verdict. The verdict ended a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two world powers. Earlier in the session, with a conviction all but certain, an emotional Griner made a final appeal to the court for leniency. She said she had no intention to break the law by bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in the city of Yekaterinburg. Prosecutors had insisted that Griner packed the cannabis oil deliberately, and asked the court to hand Briner a fine in addition to the prison sentence. Before her trial began in July, the U.S. State Department had designated Griner as “wrongfully detained”. It also moved her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator. Then last week, in an extraordinary move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He urged him to accept a deal under which Griner and Paul Whelan would go free. Whelan is an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction. The Lavrov-Blinken call marked the highest-level known contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than five months ago. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with U.S. efforts to isolate the Kremlin. People familiar with the proposal say it envisions trading Griner and Whelan for the notorious arms trader Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States. It underlines the public pressure that the White House has faced to get Griner released. =========================================================== Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: [email protected] (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
