Brittney Griner appears in Russian court after USA makes prisoner swap offer

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on February 17th, 2022 with vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner pleaded guilty to the charges against her but denied that she intended to break Russian law.

Wearing a plain khaki T-shirt and round-rimmed glasses, Griner was ushered into the courtroom on Tuesday, August 2nd, by police at Khimki District Court outside Moscow. Griner held up personal photographs before taking a seat in the defendant's cage.

The two-time Olympic champion testified last week that she could not understand how the vape cartridges had ended up in her luggage, speculating that she had inadvertently packed them as she rushed to leave.

Griner had been on her way to join her Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, for the playoffs after spending time at home in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, July 27th, that the United States has made a "substantial offer" to Russia to release American citizens held in Russia, including Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.

A source said that Washington was willing to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who had expressed surprise at the public nature of Blinken's comments at the time, said on Tuesday, August 1st, that any talk of a possible swap needed to be kept discreet.

"We still believe that any exchanges of information on this topic should be discreet," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "Megaphone diplomacy and the public exchange of opinions will not lead to results."

Russia has maintained that no deal has been made yet, and Griner is unlikely to be swapped until there is a verdict, which could be as late as mid-August.

However, Griner's lawyer Maria Blagovolina, partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm, said a verdict in the case was expected "very soon."

The defence and prosecution are expected to deliver their closing arguments on Thursday, August 4th.

Blagovolina added that a swap was "legally possible" after the verdict is made.

The case against Griner has highlighted Russia's fraught relations with the United States, which have plunged to a new post-Cold War low over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.