Brittney Griner’s Defense Team Files Appeal After Russian Court Sentence

Brittney Griner’s legal team has filed an appeal following her sentencing in Russian court earlier this month to nine years behind bars.

As previously reported, the U.S. said back in May that Griner had been “wrongfully detained” after Russian officials found vape cartridges containing a small amount of hash oil. On Aug. 4, she was sentenced to nine years.

Per a report from the Associated Press on Monday, Griner’s lawyers have now filed an appeal, although initial reports did not outline the specific grounds of the appeal. Griner pleaded guilty last month to the charges against her, telling the court there was “no intent” to break the law behind the actions in question.

In the months since Griner’s detainment, attention has turned to the discussion surrounding the possibility of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia.

Attention has also been given to the larger issue at the center of the widely criticized detainment, i.e. the handling of marijuana laws around the world. NORML’s executive director Erik Altieri, for example, responded to Griner’s sentencing earlier this month by noting how it also highlights the ongoing presence of antiquated laws here in the U.S.

“Officials in the United States should do all they can to free Griner, but just as important, end the hypocrisy of acting repulsed by her sentencing while maintaining marijuana criminalization at home by bringing our domestic marijuana policies in line with our nation’s stated principles of liberty and justice,” Altieri said.

In his own statement on Griner’s sentencing this month, President Joe Biden vowed that his administration would “continue to work tirelessly” to bring home both Griner and Paul Whelan, the latter of whom was detained in Russia in 2018 on spying accusations.