Reverend Al Sharpton wants the basketball player to return to the US. There is a time and a place for it.
The character witnesses in her trial told the judge that she has been an exemplary player and citizen during her six seasons in Russia.
UMMC Ekaterinburg teammate Yevgenia Belyakova and the team's general manager spoke during the brief afternoon court session while Griner was not far away. Since she was arrested and charged with trying to smuggle drugs into the country, she has only had one in-person contact with someone she knows.
"Our task today was to tell the court about her characteristics as an athlete, as a person, and how she played a big role in the success of the Ekaterinburg club and Russian women's basketball as a whole," he said. We haven't seen our basketball player since February. She looks good.
"Brittney has always been a very good teammate, so my role here is just to be with her, to support her." She is very much missed by us. She has a lot of energy. I was very happy to see her, and I hope this trial will end in a positive way.
She told the judge last week that she didn't intend to break the law when she brought the e-liquid with her. After a guilty plea in a Russian criminal trial, the judge reads the prosecutors' case into the record.
She will be back in court on Friday. A common practice in Russian trials is for the judge to question the person.
The former resident legal adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow expects her to repeat what she said. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are allowed to ask clarifying questions during the interrogation.
The case is expected to last until at least early August, according to her lawyers, and defense lawyer Maria Blagovolina was happy with how Thursday's session went.
Blagovolina said that the appearance of the club director, head physician and her teammate gave a positive description of their client.
As Russia seeks to trade her in for a prisoner swap or for some other concession from the United States, U.S. officials and experts consider the trial to be theater that could only end in a guilty verdict. According to sources close to her, her guilty plea was a ploy to get Russia to agree to a negotiated release.
Russian officials don't like the idea of American calls for her release.
There are no formal or procedural reasons to discuss any further steps until her trial is over, according to the deputy foreign minister.
It is hard to engage in detailed discussion of any possible exchanges because of the U.S. criticism.
The Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs has been involved in negotiations for her release.
The AP contributed.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
