KHIMKI, Russia -The defence group of U.S. basketball participant Brittney Griner, detained in Russia on drug fees, argued in court docket on Tuesday that she had used medical hashish to assuage ache from accidents, like many different elite worldwide athletes.
Griner, a Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (WNBA) star who has performed in Russia throughout the league’s offseason, was detained at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17 with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her baggage. Medical marijuana is against the law in Russia.
She faces a attainable jail sentence of as much as 10 years in a case that has highlighted the fraught relations between Russia and the US at a time of heightened rigidity over Moscow’s army intervention in Ukraine.
A narcology skilled summoned by the defence argued that medical hashish was extensively used to deal with athletes the place it was authorized, and sometimes had fewer uncomfortable side effects than different painkillers.
“With the prescription in place, Brittney might have used it for medical however not leisure functions,” stated lawyer Maria Blagovolina, companion at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Companions legislation agency.
Sporting round-rimmed glasses and a black and gray sweatshirt with “Black Lives For Peace” on the again, Griner listened to the proceedings through a translator.
Earlier than taking a seat within the defendant’s cage, she held up a lined sheet of paper with photos of her two greatest pals, a teammate and her spouse Cherelle carrying her #42 Phoenix Mercury jersey, her WNBA group.
The 2-time Olympic champion, who has appealed to U.S. President Joe Biden to safe her launch, has pled responsible however denied she meant to interrupt Russian legislation.
Griner — often known as “BG” to basketball followers — will seem in court docket once more on Wednesday, the place she may very well be referred to as upon to testify. An additional listening to within the case is scheduled for Aug. 2, Griner’s defence group stated.
U.S. officers and outstanding athletes argue the 31-year-old has been wrongly detained and have referred to as for her to be launched instantly. The Russian authorities dismiss the U.S. criticism, with the Kremlin saying the case has nothing to do with politics.
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