Griner’s protection team submitted towards the Russian court a letter from an US medical center issuing the permit in Az in 2020 when you use medical cannabis to get Griner to treat the girl chronic pain caused by sports injuries.
Also Friday, Griner’s trial was postponed until July 26 after her attorneys said they required more time to prepare to get next steps. Griner, 31, has pleaded guilty to medication charges, which has a sentence of up to ten years in prison. The defense hopes the particular plea will be regarded as by the court being a mitigating factor and the sentence won’t be serious.
ALL OF US officials classify the girl arrest as a wrongful detention and have mentioned these are “actively engaged” in fixing the issue.
“Yesterday was quite an emotional day for her, ” attorney Alexander Boykov informed reporters outside the courtroom after the hearing ended Friday. “She saw her general supervisor, her friend and teammate Evgeniya Belyakova for the first time in many a few months. And now she simply wants to take a relax. ”
“She’s tired, ” lawyer Maria Blagovolina additional. “It was very hard for her last night. But it went well. ”
During Thursday’s hearing , the court noticed testimony from Belyakova, the team captain of UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian basketball team for which Griner played in the WNBA off-season, as well as the team’s director, Maksim Ryabkov. Both were provided as character witnesses in Griner’s defense.
Elizabeth Rood, cost d’affaires of the ALL OF US embassy in Moscow, said in a statement that during the past two days of hearings, “what became very clear could be the tremendous amount of regard and admiration both in the United States and here in Russia where Microsoft. Griner has been actively playing basketball for 7 years, not only on her professional achievements, however for her character plus integrity. ”
Griner was arrested February 17 at a Moscow airport and has been accused by Russian government bodies of carrying marijuana oil in her luggage and smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance. During the demo, a prosecutor stated Griner was carrying just one gram of cannabis essential oil, which is designated as a controlled narcotic in Russia.
She was tested for drugs and was clean, her lawyers said formerly.
Doctor’s medical survey submitted as proof
The two-time ALL OF US Olympic basketball precious metal medalist was detained one week before Russia occupied Ukraine , fueling fears from the girl family and peers that will she is being used like a political pawn because of the escalating diplomatic stress between Russia and the US.
The Phoenix, az Mercury player said in court a week ago that she had no intention of carrying the marijuana oil in the girl luggage, saying through her interpreter it turned out a result of her “packing up in a hurry, ” state news company RIA Novosti documented.
Friday in court, Blagovolina read the notice from an US medical center saying, “On Might 18, 2020, Brittney Griner underwent a clinical examination… The patient complained of severe chronic pain because of multiple ankle injuries, as well as injuries and pain sustained throughout her sports profession. The patient complained of pain in the middle back again, lower back, knees, plus ankle pain. inch
Blagovolina submitted the letter as evidence together with medical test results from 2018, and a healthcare report by an American doctor from 2020 confirming Griner experienced “a chronic incapacitating disease caused by serious chronic pain. ”
According to Blagovolina, the doctor suggested Griner to use healthcare cannabis due to the identified “chronic and devastating medical condition” that will “caused chronic plus acute pain. inch
Within a written statement, Griner’s lawyers on Fri said, “The protection today provided composed evidence, including personality support material, medical records, and tax returns. Among the medical paperwork is a doctor’s prescription for the substance that will, due to an oversight, Brittney Griner remaining among her possessions when crossing the border. Among the personality support documents are numerous letters of thanks from various agencies in Yekaterinburg, in addition to letters from the ALL OF US Basketball Associations, UMMC Ekaterinburg and the Ruskies Basketball Federation. ”
Griner’s wife, together with politicians, coaches, players and numerous supporters from the WNBA, have fully called for her launch. She was at the forefront of Sunday’s WNBA All-Star game in Chicago, during which Griner has been named an honorary All-Star and players donned jerseys offering her name and number on the back again.
“She’s our cousin and, at the end of the day, we will do whatever we can to amplify the woking platform that we have to make sure that everybody is doing what they need to do to make sure that she will get home safely, ” Las Vegas Aces participant A’ja Wilson mentioned after the game. “It’s hard. It’s tough for all of us. It’s not easy. Not a day goes by that I’m not thinking about Brittney Griner. ”
‘We miss her and her energy so much’
Ryabkov told reporters after Thursday’s listening to that he provided account to tell the courtroom “what a big function she played in the success of the Ekaterinburg club and Ruskies women’s basketball generally with her shows in the Euroleague” plus “how she raised our national ranking. ”
After testifying, Belyakova described the held player to reporters as “a great teammate. ”
“We miss her and her energy so much, inch she said. “I was very glad to see her. I really hope the process ends quickly and ends well. ”
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, spoke with President Joe Biden plus Vice President Kamala Harris last week after publicly criticizing the administration’s response to her wife’s detention. Cherelle Griner told CNN in June that she wished the White House to do more in order to safely return the girl wife to the US, saying she had not been confident the government’s actions were sufficient.
In a handwritten letter sent to Biden , Brittney Griner pleaded for the president to keep battling for the return of her and other American detainees.
“(As) I sit here in an european prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection associated with my wife, family, close friends, Olympic jersey, or any type of accomplishments, I’m afraid I might be here forever, ” she had written, according to a declaration released by the communications company representing the Griner family.
“On the particular 4th of This summer, our family normally honors the service of these who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. This hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom indicates something completely different in my experience this year, ” the lady wrote.
It was Griner’s decision to plead accountable, according to her lawful team, which mentioned in a statement that will she “decided to take full responsibility for her actions as the lady knows that she is a task model for many people. ”
In addition to Griner, US citizen Paul Whelan is detained within Russia after being arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on watching charges which he vehemently denies.
Following the call with Cherelle Griner, the White House released the readout of the discussion emphasizing the President’s efforts to get in touch with the families of American detainees.
“The President guided his national security team to remain within regular contact with Cherelle and Brittney’s family, and with other groups of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to keep all of them updated on initiatives to secure the release of the loved ones as quickly as possible, ” the White House said.