WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in jail by a Russian court on drug smuggling charges, and former marine Trevor Reed called the decision “obviously political” in a CNN interview. After being imprisoned for almost three years in Russia on the grounds that he threatened the “life and health” of Russian police officers after an incident, Reed was just let free.
The basketball player was returned to her former jail facility in Russia after being sentenced on Thursday. The punishment will be appealed, according to her attorneys. Reed described the possible outcomes, saying that a convicted person may challenge the ruling in a Moscow “kangaroo court.” If Griner decides to appeal, she may be detained in the present jail until the appeal is resolved.
She may be sent to a work camp if she decides to accept the decision, he said.
Reed said that the lack of food, inadequate or nonexistent medical treatment, and higher risk of getting infections pose “severe dangers to their health” for those held in Russian labour camps.
Given that the Russian government is now negotiating a prisoner exchange with the United States, he did not completely rule out the prospect of keeping her in Moscow. The Biden administration has been working to secure Griner’s release because they believe she has been “wrongfully incarcerated.”
