Menu
What's new
Troll Kingdom

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Brittney Griner's detention in Russia extended through at least July 2.

Blinken urges Lavrov to accept proposal for swap of Griner, Whelan​


Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a "frank and direct conversation" about the "substantial proposal" that the U.S. has put forward in an attempt to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Blinken said Friday during a press conference. This is the first time the U.S. and Russian counterparts have spoken since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Blinken said he pressed the Kremlin to accept the proposal. "I'm not going to characterize his response, and I can't give you an assessment of whether I think things are any more or less likely, but it was important that he heard directly from me on that." Russia has had the proposal "for some weeks now." He did not confirm the identity of any Russians who would be swapped for Griner and Whelan, but CNN has reported that Russia wants convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. On Wednesday, Blinken declined to comment on the reports.

Click Here For Full Story
 
Cee Jay said:

cucumber-seductive.gif
 

Who is Viktor Bout? Meet the ‘Merchant of Death’ the U.S. may trade for Brittney Griner​


The United States offered to trade a convicted arms dealer in order to free WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17, after being accused of carrying vape cartridges with traces of cannabis oil into the country. So who is Viktor Bout, and why does Russia want him back?

‘Merchant of Death’: After months of public pressure and behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Biden administration offered to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, whom the U.S. considers wrongfully detained by Russia. Bout is one of the most prominent arms dealers of the last 30 years, whose notoriety earned him the nickname, the “Merchant of Death.” Nicolas Cage starred in the 2005 film “Lord of War,” which is loosely based on Bout’s life. Bout was trained by the Soviet military, and took advantage of the fractured former Soviet states in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, flying transport planes loaded with weapons all over the world. He has been linked to wars in Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, Lebanon, Somalia and Yemen, and has been rumored to sell arms to both sides in the same conflict. The U.S. accused Bout of conspiracy to provide support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, and he was suspected of providing weapons to Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Click Here For Complete Story
 
Trump called detained WNBA star Brittney Griner 'a potentially spoiled person' while criticizing proposed prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer
"She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they're very vigilant about drugs. They don't like drugs," Trump said. "And she got caught. And now we're supposed to get her out – and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess – and we're supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world."
 

Brittney Griner’s trial in Russia set to resume amid intensified diplomacy​


Since Brittney Griner last appeared in her trial for cannabis possession, the question of her fate has expanded from a tiny, cramped courtroom on Moscow’s outskirts to the highest level of Russia-U.S. diplomacy. In an extraordinary move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal under which Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would go free. Although details of the offer remain shrouded, Blinken’s public announcement of a proposal was at odds with the convention of keeping prisoner-release negotiations tightly under wraps. When American Trevor Reed, serving time for assaulting a police officer, was freed in April in exchange for a Russian drug trafficker, no clues of an imminent swap had emerged.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Final Statements in Brittney Griner Trial Scheduled for Thursday​


American basketball star Brittney Griner was back in court on Tuesday for her trial for cannabis possession amid U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure her release. During the hearing, prosecutors called a state narcotics expert who analyzed cannabis found in Griner’s luggage. Her defense fielded a specialist who challenged the analysis, charging that it was flawed and didn’t conform to official rules. Griner was escorted into court in handcuffs and placed inside a cage in the trial in Khimki, a town on the northern edge of Moscow. While in the cage she held up personal photos.The trial adjourned until Thursday, when closing statements are scheduled.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Brittney Griner's cannabis use is normal in America. But Russia's drug laws are 'draconian.'​


For as much as cannabis use, in its various forms, is accepted commercially and therapeutically in many parts of the United States, the rest of the world has yet to adopt similar views and laws. Many countries will imprison a person for possessing THC products that are legal in the United States, Russian legal expert Jamison Firestone said. “Russian drug laws are draconian,” Firestone told USA TODAY Sports. “But so are Saudi, Singaporean and Chinese laws.”

Click Here For Full Story
 

Brittney Griner sentenced to nine years in Russian prison​



A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, an expected conclusion to her trial that should allow negotiations for a prisoner swap to accelerate. Griner, who was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country, had been prepared for a harsh sentence, sources close to the player said. But she and her supporters have also been aware that Russia was not going to move forward with a trade that could bring her home until her trial was completed. A guilty verdict was considered a foregone conclusion, and Griner pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.
During sentencing, Judge Anna Sotnikova said she had found that Griner intentionally broke the law and also fined her 1 million rubles (about $16,700). Sotnikova said the time Griner has served in custody since her arrest in February would count toward the sentence. Griner reacted to the sentence with little emotion, listening to the verdict with a blank stare on her face.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Brittney Griner: US urges Russia to accept deal to free jailed basketball star​


 The US has urged Moscow to accept a deal to free basketball player Brittney Griner, who has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.​

​


The double Olympic winner was convicted of possession and smuggling drugs after admitting to possessing cannabis oil. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US offer was "a serious proposal", but gave no details. US media reports suggest Washington is offering a prisoner swap involving a Russian arms trafficker. Viktor Bout - known as the "merchant of death" - is serving a 25 year-prison sentence in the US. He could be transferred by Washington to the Russian authorities in exchange for Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, the reports say. Whelan, who has US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in jail in Russia after being convicted of spying.
Mr Kirby told reporters that the duo were being wrongfully detained and needed to be let go.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Brittney Griner could 'hardly talk' after being handed 9 years in Russian prison, and was expecting half that, lawyer says​


  • The WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison on Thursday.
  • She had been detained since February and accused of smuggling drugs into Russia.
  • Her lawyer said she was "devastated" and could "hardly talk," and that they plan to appeal.

Big names across the sports world and beyond share reactions to Brittney Griner's 9-year prison sentence​

  • Brittney Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison.
  • The WNBA star was arrested in February after Moscow airport officials found cannabis in her luggage.
  • From top athletes to musicians and politicians, here's how the world has reacted to Griner's sentence.
Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison over drug-smuggling charges for carrying vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
The WNBA superstar's trial came to a close Thursday, with the judge handing down a guilty verdict along with her heavy sentence. Griner has been detained in Russian jail since February, when she was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport after customs agents discovered vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage.
Over the month of July, Griner and her legal team have appealed for leniency after she admitted wrongdoing and pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Though the defense made the case that Griner inadvertently brought the drugs in her luggage and that she had been prescribed medical marijuana back in the US, the two-time Olympic gold medalist received a near-maximum sentence and now faces the prospect of spending almost a decade at a Russian penal colony.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Russia ‘ready to discuss’ prisoner swap with U.S. after Griner gets 9 years in jail​


Russia said Friday it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with the United States, a day after WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court for a drugs offense. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was “ready to discuss this topic,” but only within the framework of a diplomatic channel that he said had been previously agreed upon by President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There is a special channel that has been agreed upon by the presidents, and no matter what anyone says publicly, this channel remains relevant,” he said at a news conference at a meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia. Biden said Thursday his administration would continue to "work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue" to bring Griner and Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage, back home.

Click Here For Full Story
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top