Tag: Griner

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Brittney Griner Lawyers Hope For ‘Lenient’ Sentence After Medical Expert Testimony

Brittney Griner Lawyers Hope For ‘Lenient’ Sentence After Medical Expert Testimony

Brittney Griner Lawyers Hope For ‘Lenient’ Sentence After Medical Expert Testimony

The trial of WNBA star Brittney Griner continued in Moscow on Tuesday, with her defense staff presenting further evidence to help their posture that the Olympic gold medalist introduced hashish oil to Russia unintentionally, and that the cannabis oil was prescribed by a health care provider and not used for leisure reasons in the United States. 

All through Tuesday’s hearing, Griner’s legal professionals introduced in Russian narcologist Mikhail Tetyushkin, who discussed that “medical cannabis is a well-known cure especially among athletes” in a lot of international locations exterior of Russia, because of its therapeutic, anti-inflammatory homes. 

According to CNN, Tetyushkin presented details on the use of clinical hashish by athletes, indicating that “the frequent use of cannabinoids is incompatible with professional sports thanks to the influence of relaxation and inhibition of reaction moments.” He also testified about globally use of health-related hashish, saying that there is no global typical “on the quantity of cannabinoids” in health care hashish.

“It is clear that if the use is regular, it has an effect on the nervous technique, decreases the speed of response and considering, decreases bodily activity and the potential to execute hugely coordinated actions, so specialist athletes are unable to use them all the time,” Tetyushkin reportedly advised journalists soon after the listening to. 

Griner’s legal professionals offered added destructive drug assessments on Tuesday. One particular of her attorneys, 

Maria Blagovolina, advised the courtroom that an original report from the prosecution’s specialist witness was “inconsistent” and not dependent on scientific and lawful benchmarks. Blagovolina mentioned the report did not figure out the quantitative volume of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the cannabis oil found in Griner’s baggage, CNN documented. THC is the key psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

Soon after Tuesday’s hearing, her attorneys ongoing to assert that the hashish oil was introduced to Russia unintentionally and prescribed by a health care provider in the United States. 

“We are not arguing that Brittney took it below as a drugs. We are still declaring that she involuntarily brought it below for the reason that she was in a rush,” Alexander Boykov, a single of Griner’s attorneys, explained to journalists on Tuesday. “The Russian community has to know, and the Russian court in the first position has to know, that it was not used for leisure purposes in the United States. It was approved by a doctor.”

Boykov included that “given the variety of extenuating circumstances” in Griner’s case, they count on “a rather lenient verdict.”

“We have a ton of mitigating aspects. So we do hope that the court will acquire it into consideration. And the courts in Russia, in truth, have pretty wide discretion with regard to the sentence,” Blagovolina, a lawyer for Griner, reported.

The Russian International Ministry argued final week that Griner’s arrest and detention is warranted. The ministry has criticized U.S. officials for indicating Griner has been “wrongfully detained.”

“If a U.S. citizen was taken in relationship with the point that she was smuggling prescription drugs, and she does not deny this, then this really should be commensurate with our Russian regional regulations and not with all those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” Maria Zakharova, the ministry’s spokesperson, explained in a statement. “If prescription drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is carried out for a prolonged time… this does not signify that all other nations are following the exact path.”

For the duration of a crack in Tuesday’s listening to, ABC Information briefly interviewed Griner. “Good luck on the bar exam,” Griner explained in a information to her spouse, Cherelle, who just lately graduated from law university. 

Griner arrived in court docket with two shots of her wife, pals and teammates. When questioned if she experienced any problems, she replied: “No, no complaints. Just ready patiently.” 

Tuesday’s hearing, which lasted about one particular hour, is the fifth so much in Griner’s ongoing legal demo in Russia. The case was adjourned until eventually Wednesday afternoon, exactly where the WNBA star is predicted to testify and be cross-examined by prosecutors. 

According to her lawyers, the demo is expected to end in early August.

Matters:  Brittney Griner

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Brittney Griner to testify in trial, lawyers say

Brittney Griner to testify in trial, lawyers say

“Griner will testify tomorrow, and just after that, it really is her selection regardless of whether she answers any thoughts or not,” Alexander Boykov, a law firm for Griner, informed CNN on Tuesday. Prosecutors also will have an chance to issue Griner.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist manufactured a transient court appearance at the Khimki court docket of the Moscow location on Tuesday wherever her defense group offered proof.

Griner, 31, pleaded responsible to drug prices earlier this month but the US Condition Department says she is wrongfully detained. She faces up to 10 decades in jail. Griner’s supporters have known as for her release above fears she is currently being employed as a political pawn amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.

At Tuesday’s hearing, which lasted about an hour, a narcologist introduced in by Griner’s legal professionals stated that primarily based on the WNBA player’s prescription, it is likely Griner utilised the hashish oil identified in her baggage for health care uses relatively than recreational applications.

The narcologist, Mikhail Tetyushkin, discussed that “health-related hashish is a well known cure specifically among the athletes” in lots of countries outdoors Russia.

Tetyushkin offered the court docket with info on the use of clinical cannabis by athletes, declaring that the repeated use of cannabinoids is incompatible with experienced sports activities thanks to the outcome of relaxation and inhibition of reaction occasions.

He also explained to the court on Tuesday that there is no global regular on the quantity of cannabinoids in medical marijuana.

Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, advised the court docket that an first report from the prosecution’s qualified witness was “inconsistent” and not according to scientific and lawful requirements.

Blagovolina mentioned the report from the prosecution’s pro witness did not decide the quantitative information of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the hashish oil discovered in Griner’s luggage. THC is the principal psychoactive material in cannabis.

When the listening to concluded, Blagovolina stated Tetyushkin “spelled out that in various international locations — particularly in the US — health-related hashish is a common treatment method precisely among athletes.”

“Consequently, with the prescription in area, Brittney may perhaps have used it for healthcare but not leisure purposes,” Blagovolina extra.

Tuesday’s listening to, the fifth so much in Griner’s felony trial, was attended by US Embassy Cost d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood.

Speaking to press exterior the courtroom, Rood told reporters that Griner confirmed that she is undertaking as “perfectly as can be anticipated underneath these circumstances.”

The trial is envisioned to finish early subsequent month, Griner’s lawyers have reported.

Griner detained considering that February

Megan Rapinoe and Steph Curry among stars to call for Brittney Griner's release at ESPY Awards

The Phoenix Mercury basketball star was arrested in February at a Moscow airport with a lot less than a gram of cannabis oil in her baggage. Griner, who performs in Russia during the WNBA’s offseason, has been held considering that then on drug smuggling prices. Her trial began in early July.

A prosecutor at the begin of her trial in Moscow accused Griner of deliberately smuggling the medicines into Russia.
Griner explained to a court docket that she had not intended to commit a crime and that it was the result of her packing in a hurry, state information agency RIA Novosti reported. Her protection group told Russian judges that she was approved medical hashish for “intense persistent suffering.”

The defense hopes the plea will be considered by the courtroom as a mitigating factor and the sentence would not be extreme.

The decision to plead guilty was designed by Griner alone, a resource shut to her has mentioned. But in latest weeks, Griner, her family members, lawyers and gurus experienced talked over this final decision thoroughly. Supplied the 99{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8} described conviction price in Russian criminal conditions, Griner was urged to weigh all the elements, which includes a plea that could ultimately outcome in a shorter sentence.

Some have speculated Griner could be produced and returned to the US in a prisoner swap, as was Trevor Reed, an American veteran detained in Russia for a few years before his launch in April.

Continue to, ahead of any prospective prisoner swap, it was predicted Griner would have to be convicted and also admit fault, a senior US official has instructed CNN. Reed experienced to indicator a document declaring he was responsible — a little something he experienced resisted for virtually the entirety of his detention — just days ahead of he was allow out, the formal stated.

‘Please really don’t overlook about me’

A lot of in the WNBA, alongside with other athletes, coaches and politicians, have named for Griner’s release. Griner wrote a letter to President Joe Biden that was shipped to the White Dwelling this month, saying she fears she will be detained in Russia indefinitely.

“I comprehend you are dealing with so significantly, but you should do not forget about me and the other American Detainees. Make sure you do all you can to carry us household,” Griner wrote. “I voted for the initial time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so significantly very good to do with my independence that you can assist restore.”

Griner has some supporters in Russia, exactly where she played through the WNBA offseason. A previous teammate alongside with the director of UMMC Ekaterinburg — the team Griner performed with in western Russia until finally her agreement expired soon after she was detained — testified at an before hearing.

“Brittney has generally been a very good teammate, which is why my function right here is to help her and be there for her,” staff captain Evgeniya Belyakova claimed soon after the listening to.

Belyakova, a previous captain of the Russian nationwide staff, extra, “We miss her and her vitality so a great deal. I was really glad to see her. I hope the method finishes shortly and ends effectively.”

This tale has been current with additional developments and history facts.

CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, Abby Phillip, Dakin Andone and Alaa Elassar contributed to this report.

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Brittney Griner was prescribed medical cannabis for ‘severe chronic pain,’ lawyers tell court

Brittney Griner was prescribed medical cannabis for ‘severe chronic pain,’ lawyers tell court

Griner’s protection group submitted to the Russian courtroom a letter from a US health care middle issuing a allow in Arizona in 2020 for the use of healthcare hashish for Griner to treat her chronic soreness caused by sports accidents.

Also Friday, Griner’s trial was postponed till July 26 after her legal professionals claimed they essential extra time to prepare for subsequent steps. Griner, 31, has pleaded guilty to drug charges, which carries a sentence of up to 10 many years in prison. The defense hopes the plea will be thought of by the courtroom as a mitigating component and the sentence will not be critical.

“Yesterday was very an psychological working day for her,” attorney Alexander Boykov advised reporters outside the house the court just after the hearing ended Friday. “She noticed her common supervisor, her friend and teammate Evgeniya Belyakova for the to start with time in many months. And now she just wishes to get a rest.”

“She’s worn out,” lawyer Maria Blagovolina included. “It was fairly really hard for her yesterday. But it went perfectly.”

For the duration of Thursday’s hearing, the courtroom listened to testimony from Belyakova, the crew captain of UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian basketball team for which Griner played in the WNBA off-season, as perfectly as the team’s director, Maksim Ryabkov. Equally were offered as character witnesses in Griner’s defense.

Elizabeth Rood, charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow, said in a statement that during the previous two times of hearings, “what turned incredibly clear is the incredible quantity of respect and admiration both in the United States and listed here in Russia where Ms. Griner has been taking part in basketball for 7 many years, not only for her skilled achievements, but for her character and integrity.”

Griner was arrested February 17 at a Moscow airport and has been accused by Russian authorities of carrying hashish oil in her baggage and smuggling significant quantities of a narcotic material. During the demo, a prosecutor claimed Griner was carrying fewer than a gram of cannabis oil, which is selected as a managed narcotic in Russia.

She was examined for medicines and was clean up, her legal professionals claimed formerly.

Doctor’s clinical report submitted as proof

The two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist was detained one particular 7 days in advance of Russia invaded Ukraine, fueling fears from her relatives and peers that she is getting used as a political pawn owing to the escalating diplomatic rigidity between Russia and the US.

The Phoenix Mercury player explained in court docket very last week that she experienced no intention of carrying the cannabis oil in her baggage, stating by her interpreter that it was a result of her “packing up in a hurry,” condition information company RIA Novosti documented.

Friday in court, Blagovolina examine the letter from a US health care heart stating, “On May perhaps 18, 2020, Brittney Griner underwent a clinical assessment… The affected person complained of acute serious discomfort thanks to numerous ankle accidents, as properly as accidents and agony sustained during her athletics vocation. The affected individual complained of soreness in the middle back again, decreased again, knees, and ankle suffering.”

Opinion: Why Brittney Griner is so valuable to Putin

Blagovolina submitted the letter as proof alongside with healthcare test effects from 2018, and a health-related report by an American health practitioner from 2020 confirming Griner had “a continual debilitating ailment brought on by extreme chronic pain.”

In accordance to Blagovolina, the medical doctor encouraged Griner to use professional medical hashish owing to the identified “continual and debilitating health-related issue” that “triggered persistent and acute ache.”

In a published statement, Griner’s lawyers on Friday explained, “The protection nowadays presented created proof, such as character guidance content, health care information, and tax returns. Among the the health care paperwork is a doctor’s prescription for the material that, due to an oversight, Brittney Griner left among her possessions when crossing the border. Amongst the character help files are numerous letters of many thanks from a variety of businesses in Yekaterinburg, as very well as letters from the US Basketball Associations, UMMC Ekaterinburg and the Russian Basketball Federation.”

Griner’s wife, along with politicians, coaches, gamers and various supporters from the WNBA, have loudly known as for her release. She was at the forefront of Sunday’s WNBA All-Star recreation in Chicago, in the course of which Griner was named an honorary All-Star and players donned jerseys showcasing her title and range on the back again.

“She’s our sister and, at the conclude of the day, we are heading to do whatsoever we can to amplify the system that we have to make certain that every person is executing what they want to do to make sure that she will get household safely,” Las Vegas Aces player A’ja Wilson explained after the game. “It is really tricky. It is really challenging for all of us. It is not simple. Not a working day goes by that I am not contemplating about Brittney Griner.”

‘We pass up her and her power so much’

Ryabkov advised reporters soon after Thursday’s hearing that he furnished testimony to convey to the court “what a massive position she played in the good results of the Ekaterinburg club and Russian women’s basketball in typical with her performances in the Euroleague” and “how she raised our national ranking.”

Just after testifying, Belyakova described the detained participant to reporters as “a excellent teammate.”

“We miss out on her and her vitality so a lot,” she explained. “I was really happy to see her. I hope the procedure finishes before long and finishes properly.”

Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, spoke with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris very last 7 days just after publicly criticizing the administration’s response to her wife’s detention. Cherelle Griner instructed CNN in June that she wanted the White Household to do a lot more to safely return her spouse to the US, saying she was not confident the government’s actions were being more than enough.
It's been 130 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia and her trial is about to start. Her wife wants US officials to do more to bring her home
In a handwritten letter shipped to Biden, Brittney Griner pleaded for the president to keep fighting for the return of her and other American detainees.

“(As) I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my feelings and with out the safety of my wife, family, pals, Olympic jersey, or any achievements, I am terrified I could possibly be listed here eternally,” she wrote, in accordance to a statement produced by the communications company symbolizing the Griner family members.

“On the 4th of July, our spouse and children normally honors the provider of individuals who fought for our independence, which includes my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts imagining about how I typically celebrate this working day because liberty suggests a little something fully diverse to me this year,” she wrote.

It was Griner’s final decision to plead guilty, according to her authorized workforce, which stated in a statement that she “made the decision to take full duty for her actions as she appreciates that she is a position design for quite a few persons.”

In addition to Griner, US citizen Paul Whelan is detained in Russia after being arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 16 several years in prison on espionage prices which he vehemently denies.

Pursuing the phone with Cherelle Griner, the White Residence produced a readout of the dialogue emphasizing the President’s efforts to talk with the households of American detainees.

“The President directed his national safety workforce to stay in regular call with Cherelle and Brittney’s family, and with other families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to preserve them up to date on endeavours to secure the launch of their cherished ones as rapidly as doable,” the White Residence stated.

CNN’s Abby Phillip, Frederik Pleitgen, Betsy Klein, Dakine Andone, Alaa Elassar, Chris Liakos, Tara John, Rosa Flores, Jacqueline Rose, Alexa Miranda, Ben Church and Homero De la Fuente contributed to this report.