Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prime spokesman gave no indication Monday that WNBA star Brittney Griner might be launched quickly by Russian authorities who say they discovered cannabis oil in her baggage.
In an unique interview with NBC Information’ Keir Simmons, the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, disputed the State Division’s place that Griner is a Russian hostage.
Griner, he stated, was no completely different from “a whole lot and a whole lot of Russian residents that have been sentenced for carrying cannabis.”
“Why ought to we make an exemption for a overseas citizen?” he added.
Griner, 31, was detained in February after she landed in Moscow; authorities stated a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, a spinoff of hashish. The offense might carry a most penalty of 10 years in jail in Russia.
Peskov was interviewed in Moscow, the place the federal government is cracking down on journalists and limiting what reporters can say below menace of imprisonment.
In Could, the State Division reclassified Griner as having been “wrongfully detained” and transferred oversight of her case to the State Division Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
“She violated Russian regulation, and now she’s being prosecuted,” Peskov stated. “It’s not about being a hostage. There are many Americans right here. They’re having fun with their freedoms … however you must obey the legal guidelines.”
Requested why Russia didn’t refuse Griner entry or hasn’t simply despatched her dwelling, Peskov stated he couldn’t touch upon Russian regulation enforcement’s determination.
Griner’s authorized group didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Monday.
Griner was in Russia to play within the nation’s skilled league in the course of the WNBA’s offseason, and her detention has been prolonged 3 times. The latest extension leaves her behind bars till no less than July 2, in keeping with the Russian state information company Tass.
Her teammates, household and followers have pushed for her launch, fearing Griner, the star middle for the Phoenix Mercury, is getting used to achieve leverage in Russia’s confrontation with the U.S.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, stated this month that “it stays clear that BG is getting used as a political pawn,” and she or he urged President Joe Biden to do no matter is important to deliver her dwelling.
Griner, a 6-foot-9 native of Houston, has gained two Olympic gold medals, a WNBA championship with the Mercury and a nationwide title at Baylor College. She is ranked as one of many prime 25 WNBA gamers since its founding in 1996.
Tass reported final month that Griner may very well be exchanged for convicted arms supplier Viktor Bout.
NBC Information wasn’t capable of verify the report, and Peskov stated he had no details about whether or not any doable swaps have been within the works. He known as Bout, who’s serving a 25-year jail sentence within the U.S., “an actual hostage” who has been saved within the U.S. jail for greater than a decade.
In April, Russia launched former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed in a prisoner trade wherein President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving time in Connecticut.
Individually, Peskov appeared to agree with NATO’s conclusion that the battle in Ukraine might grow to be a protracted one.
“If you happen to talk about the issue of safety, of the continental safety and world safety, sure, will probably be a long-lasting disaster,” he stated. “Russia will insist … that its safety is ensured. Russia will insist, and we are going to by no means belief the West anymore.”
Laura Saravia and Natasha Lebedeva contributed.
