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      Brittney Griner Back in Russian Court as Lawyers Plead for Leniency

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      Escorted by a masked police officer with a dog, her wrists handcuffed, the American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in a Russian court on Tuesday for another hearing in a trial that is likely to end with her conviction in the middle of this month, her lawyers said.One of the best players of her generation, Ms. Griner has been caught up in a confrontation between Russia and the United States over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As the case is heard in a courtroom, the wrangling over Ms. Griner’s fate has shifted increasingly to the diplomatic arena, with Russia and the United States signaling her possible involvement in an exchange for high-profile Russians in U.S. custody.Last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the American government had “put a substantial proposal on the table,” although he declined to discuss the details. On Thursday, he discussed the matter with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, in their first phone call since the war in Ukraine. But no breakthroughs were reported, and no progress is expected before Anna S. Sotnikova, a judge in the town of Khimki, near Moscow, delivers a verdict in the case.Ms. Griner, 31, was detained in a Moscow airport while traveling to Yekaterinburg, Russia, to play for a local team there about one week before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Customs officials found two vape cartridges containing less than one gram of hashish oil in her luggage.News of her detention was made public only after the war started, however. She was charged with attempting to smuggle a significant amount of illegal narcotics into Russia, an offense that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.What to Know About Brittney Griner’s Detention in RussiaCard 1 of 5What happened? More

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      Brittney Griner’s Lawyers Argue for Leniency in Russian Court

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      Wearing a black and gray sweatshirt with the slogan “Black lives for peace” printed on the back, Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia on drug charges, appeared in a court near Moscow on Tuesday as her defense team continued to present evidence that she had not intended to break the law.She was escorted to a courtroom by a group of police officers, one of them wearing a balaklava, and stood in a metal cage, holding photographs of her relatives, teammates and friends, according to video footage from the scene published by Russian state television.After being detained in a Moscow airport one week before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Ms. Griner has become an unlikely pawn in a diplomatic game between Moscow and Washington. With her guilty plea making the verdict seem a foregone conclusion, experts said that her best hope was that the Biden administration could find a way to swap her for a high-profile Russian being held by the United States.During court hearings, her defense team argued for leniency, saying that Ms. Griner had not intended to smuggle narcotics into Russia and that, like many other international athletes, she had used cannabis to help ease pain from injuries.A narcology expert testified in court on Tuesday, Ms. Griner’s lawyers said, to present a case that in some countries, including the United States, medical cannabis “is a popular treatment, specifically among athletes.”“With the prescription in place, Brittney may have used it for medical, but not for recreational purposes,” said Maria Blagovolina, one of Ms. Griner’s lawyers and a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin & Partners, a firm in Moscow.At the previous hearing, the lawyers presented a note from Ms. Griner’s doctor recommending cannabis to treat her pain. Ms. Griner was also expected to appear in court on Wednesday, when she could be called to testify.Ms. Griner had traveled to Russia because she played for a team in the country to earn extra money during the off-season. Russian customs officials discovered two vape cartridges with hashish oil — a cannabis derivative — in her luggage.Ms. Griner was taken into custody near Moscow and accused of willfully smuggling the vape cartridges, a charge that can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.On July 7, Ms. Griner pleaded guilty to the charges, saying that she had unintentionally carried a banned substance into Russia because she had packed in a hurry. The Russian authorities have signaled that no possible exchange can take place before a verdict in court.American officials have said that they are doing all they can to return Ms. Griner home, arguing that she was wrongfully detained. Last week, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that such statements were “political, biased, and illegitimate.”“If an American citizen was detained on drug trafficking charges and she does not deny it herself, then this should correspond to Russian legislation, and not to the laws adopted in San Francisco,” Ms. Zakharova said. More

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      NBA Campaign to Free Brittney Griner Is Mostly Low Key

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      Griner, the W.N.B.A. star, has been detained in Russia since February. The N.B.A., which founded the women’s league in 1996, has said it is working behind the scenes to help Griner.The N.B.A. is a $10 billion corporation that has the power and reach to promote not just its teams and players but to provoke discussion and debate around social issues. It has used that influence most prominently to fight racism in the United States.Yet when it has come to Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia since February, the N.B.A.’s teams have been mostly absent from the public campaign for her release. The N.B.A. founded the W.N.B.A. and still owns about half of it, but the N.B.A. has been relatively muted outside of news conferences as Griner’s family, her agent and the women’s league and its players have led the public push for her freedom. N.B.A. players have also shown support.Officials in both leagues said they had stayed quiet at first at the urging of U.S. government officials who worried that publicizing the case would backfire and jeopardize Griner even further. But even after the U.S. State Department said that it had determined she had been “wrongfully detained” and government officials began regularly speaking about Griner, the N.B.A. and team owners remained mostly quiet, fueling sentiments that the case has not gotten the kind of spotlight Griner’s supporters have demanded.N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver has said publicly that the league and its teams are using their influence and connections to help Griner in ways the public doesn’t see. It is difficult to say whether they are doing enough when even experts in diplomacy disagree on what “enough” would be or if public or private advocacy would be more effective.“There are no easy answers,” said Ian Bremmer, a political scientist who runs a political risk research and consulting firm. He added: “Could the N.B.A. have done more? Yes, they could have.”On the other hand, Bremmer said, pressure from the N.B.A. could prompt Russia to ask for more in a deal to release Griner. Experts have suggested that a prisoner swap could free Griner.“How you value all of those things depends on your perspective,” Bremmer said.Brittney Griner, right, the star center of the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury, has been detained in Russia on drug charges since February. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.Evgenia Novozhenina/ReutersThe N.B.A. players’ union said its members had been deeply concerned about Griner, and it pointed to players’ public shows of support at playoff games and award shows and on social media. Silver and W.N.B.A. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert have said that N.B.A. owners also care but have kept their advocacy out of the public eye. The New York Times contacted owners of all 30 N.B.A. teams — directly or through representatives — and none agreed to be interviewed about Griner.Through a spokesman, Silver declined to be interviewed for this article, but in a statement he reiterated his public comments that the league had been “actively engaged” with government officials and experts.“The N.B.A. and its teams are also using their influence to draw attention to Brittney’s situation, but ultimately this is a matter to be resolved by the United States government due to the serious and complex geopolitical issues at play,” Silver said in the statement.The nuance of the league’s position isn’t lost even on those who are most intimately aware of what it means to be wrongfully detained abroad. Consider Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post opinion writer who was detained in Iran for a year and a half on spurious charges and freed in a prisoner swap in 2016.He prepared to question Silver in June before the N.B.A. finals at a news conference, one of the few the commissioner gives in the season.“I wanted to put him on the spot,” Rezaian said of Silver. “‘As a corporation, what are you doing for this employee of yours?’”But before he got a chance, Silver beat him to it, saying that the N.B.A. and the W.N.B.A. were working with the U.S. government and outside experts to try to expedite Griner’s release. Rezaian said he thought that Silver’s remarks were forceful and that speaking about Griner before being asked had been smart.“I thought it was wonderful that the commissioner used that moment of arguably his biggest platform of the year, or one of them, to call attention to the case,” Rezaian said. “If he can do that then, three and a half months into her detention, he could have done it earlier.“But I know they were being advised against doing it earlier. I don’t blame anybody for that. There is not an official handbook to deal with what to do when your loved one or employee gets taken hostage by a hostile state.”Griner, 31, has been detained since Feb. 17 after Russian customs officials said they found hashish oil in a vape cartridge in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. Her trial began July 1, and she pleaded guilty on July 7. She said she did not intend to break the law as she traveled to play for a Russian women’s basketball team during the off-season from her W.N.B.A. team, the Phoenix Mercury.Her next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. If she is formally convicted, which experts said had been likely even before she pleaded guilty, Griner could face up to 10 years in a penal colony. The U.S. State Department said it would work to negotiate her release regardless of the outcome of the trial.Her public support has remained strong, despite her guilty plea.“I get asked this question all the time — ‘Has the N.B.A. been helpful?’” Engelbert said. “Extremely helpful. We share a brand. We have N.B.A. after our name. N.B.A. team owners have reached out to me personally: ‘What can we do to help with Brittney?’”Engelbert said that an N.B.A. owner had connected her with the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a unit of the State Department that handles the cases of Americans deemed wrongfully detained, even before Griner had been given that designation.Negotiations to secure the release of prisoners abroad are often conducted quietly. It is unclear what the N.B.A.’s role has been in applying pressure to government officials or assisting Griner’s family, but Engelbert said Silver had been personally involved in making phone calls to government officials on Griner’s behalf.By the time the State Department announced it had determined that Griner had been wrongfully detained, the W.N.B.A. season was about to begin, but just eight N.B.A. teams were still competing in the playoffs.“It takes a while to get to the realization that the person that you’re trying to influence is the president of the United States,” Rezaian said. “Because they’re the only one who’s in the position to make the kinds of concessions and decisions to make concessions that will free somebody.”He added later, “People come home when it becomes politically costly for a president for them not to come home.”The W.N.B.A.’s teams have honored Griner in many ways, including fund-raisers, court decals and T-shirts, and her family will still receive her full Mercury salary this season. Some N.B.A. players have spoken about her or worn clothing that drew attention to her detainment. The N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns, who own the Mercury, added a decal to their court and have posted about Griner on their social media accounts, but few N.B.A. teams have made many vocal or public shows of support.Experts are divided on the impact of public pressure. Some believe it worsens Griner’s situation by giving the Russian government more leverage in negotiations. One Russian official said the publicity around her case was creating “interference” in making a deal.The Phoenix Suns included a decal with Griner’s No. 42 and her initials on their court during the playoffs. The Suns own the Mercury, which Griner has played for since 2013.Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesN.B.A. team owners have not been part of the public campaign. At a news conference during the summer league in Las Vegas this month, Silver said that Griner’s situation was not on the agenda during the league’s board of governors meeting but that individual owners had spoken to him about her.The Times then contacted at least one owner from each team. Eleven representatives declined on behalf of owners, including one who would not even pass on the request. One spokesman said the team’s owner was on vacation, and 16 teams did not respond. Two owners responded directly.“I can say that I have complete confidence that the N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. league offices are doing everything in their power,” Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, said in a text message.The Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban declined to be interviewed but said by email, “I do hope she gets out soon.”Five N.B.A. teams — in Phoenix, Brooklyn, Indiana, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C. — own W.N.B.A. teams. Owners for those teams declined to comment, but each of those W.N.B.A. teams has publicly supported Griner.Engelbert said the N.B.A. had not asked team owners to avoid talking about Griner. She is part of the N.B.A.’s senior leadership team and reports to Silver.“The suggestion has been to support the administration and the State Department in the work that they’re doing in this complex situation to get Brittney home,” Engelbert said.Players have shown their support. During an N.B.A. players’ union meeting in May, Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time N.B.A. All-Star who spent last season with the Lakers, said the players should use the finals to highlight Griner.On June 2, the day of Silver’s N.B.A. finals news conference, Anthony posted a video on Twitter of himself discussing Griner. He has 9.2 million followers.“I wanted to use my voice to rally the basketball community,” Anthony said in a statement to The Times.At an N.B.A. finals practice two days after Anthony posted his video, nearly every member of the Boston Celtics wore a black T-shirt with orange lettering that said “We are BG.” Grant Williams, a Celtics forward and vice president of the players’ union, had the shirts shipped overnight for his teammates.Stephen Curry, second from right, a guard for the Golden State Warriors, honored Griner during the ESPY awards show on Wednesday alongside the W.N.B.A. stars Nneka Ogwumike, left, and Skylar Diggins-Smith, right.Mark Terrill/Invision, via Mark Terrill/Invision/ApStephen Curry and LeBron James, two of the N.B.A.’s biggest stars, have also spoken publicly about Griner.Tamika Tremaglio, the executive director of the N.B.A. players’ union, said she had been in contact with Terri Jackson, the executive director of the W.N.B.A.’s players’ union, since just after news broke of Griner’s detention about how N.B.A. players could help.When the N.B.A.’s union leaders met in Las Vegas this month, they asked for an update. Jackson, who was at the W.N.B.A. All-Star Game in Chicago, recorded a video that was shown to the N.B.A. players.“You could hear a pin drop,” Tremaglio said. “They were so pensive in terms of listening and hearing and understanding what was happening. It is something that we as a union also support the women. This is something we were critically concerned about, too.”Rezaian said public displays of support are important.During his 544-day detention in Iran, some of his most hopeful moments had come when he had heard that people were speaking about him, whether it was someone from The Washington Post or President Barack Obama.“That sort of thing just floods you with a sense of being alive and also of power,” Rezaian said. “The walls might be up around you, and you can’t break them down, but you’re still there. You still count. And people are doing what they can for you.” More

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      Brittney Griner’s Case Draws Attention to ‘Wrongful Detentions’

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      Dozens of Americans are believed to be held by foreign adversaries as political pawns in disputes with the United States.WASHINGTON — Brittney Griner. Austin Tice. The Citgo 6. And now, potentially, three American military veterans who were captured by enemy forces after traveling to Ukraine to fight Russia.They are among nearly 50 Americans who the State Department believes are wrongfully detained by foreign governments. At least a dozen more Americans are being held as hostages — including by extremist groups — or on criminal charges that their families dispute.American citizens are increasingly attractive targets for U.S. adversaries — including China, Russia, Iran and Venezuela — looking to use them as political pawns in battles with the United States.Ms. Griner, a professional basketball player, is perhaps the most high-profile American to be snared by what the State Department has called dubious charges. She was detained in February at an airport near Moscow after authorities said they found hashish oil in her luggage. Her arrest came just days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, which is being armed by the United States and its allies.This past week, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the Biden administration would continue to work to make sure that Ms. Griner, Paul Whelan — another American held by Moscow — and “all unjustly detained Americans and hostages are home safely.”Here is a look at “wrongful detentions,” as they are known, and some of the struggles of Americans held overseas.What does ‘wrongfully detained’ mean?Generally, an American who is held by a foreign government for the purposes of influencing U.S. policy or extracting political or economic concessions from Washington is considered “wrongfully detained.” In these cases, negotiations between the United States and the other government are key to securing the American’s freedom.The State Department does not release the precise number of Americans that it has determined are in that category. But a senior State Department official said there were 40 to 50 wrongfully detained Americans abroad.“Hostage” is a blanket term used to describe Americans who have been blocked from leaving a foreign country. Some are held by terrorist organizations or other groups with whom the State Department does not have diplomatic relations. In these cases, the F.B.I. and other intelligence or law enforcement agencies lead negotiations.According to the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, named for a journalist who was killed in Syria by the Islamic State in 2014, 64 Americans are wrongfully detained abroad or being held hostage.What to Know About Brittney Griner’s Detention in RussiaCard 1 of 6What happened? More

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      Russia Hints at Linking Griner’s Case to Fate of ‘Merchant of Death’

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      Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.WASHINGTON — She is an American professional basketball star, accused of carrying hashish oil in her luggage.He is a notorious Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death,” serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who said they planned to kill Americans.And the Kremlin appears interested in linking their fates, in a potential deal with the Biden administration that would free both.The vast disparity between the cases of Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout highlights the extreme difficulty President Biden would face if he sought a prisoner exchange to free Ms. Griner, the detained W.N.B.A. player, from detention in Moscow. The Biden administration, reluctant to create an incentive for the arrest or abduction of Americans abroad, would be hard-pressed to justify the release of a villainous figure like Mr. Bout.At the same time, Mr. Biden is under pressure to free Ms. Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow-area airport in February and whom the State Department classified in May as “wrongfully detained.” That reflects concern that the Kremlin considers her leverage in the tense confrontation between the United States and Russia over Ukraine. Last week, dozens of groups representing people of color, women and L.G.B.T.Q. Americans sent a letter urging Mr. Biden to “make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”Ms. Griner’s trial started on Friday was adjourned until next Thursday.Mr. Bout, 55, a former Soviet military officer who made a fortune in global arms trafficking before he was caught in a federal sting operation, could be the price for any deal. Russian officials have pressed Mr. Bout’s case for years, and in recent weeks Russian media outlets have directly linked his case to Ms. Griner’s. Some, including the state-owned Tass news service, have even claimed that talks with Washington for a possible exchange are already underway, something that U.S. officials will not confirm.Mr. Bout’s New York-based lawyer, Steve Zissou, said in an interview that Russian officials are pressing to free Mr. Bout, who was convicted in 2011 of offering to sell weapons, including antiaircraft missiles, to federal agents posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Mr. Zissou said that he met with Anatoly I. Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, in June in Washington and that Mr. Antonov told him the release of Mr. Bout was a very high priority for the Russian government.“It has been communicated to the American side very clearly that they’re going to have to get real on Viktor Bout if they expect any further prisoner exchanges,” Mr. Zissou said. “My sense of this is that no American is going home unless Viktor Bout is sent home with them.”U.S. officials have declined to substantiate that notion and won’t discuss any potential deal to free Ms. Griner. The State Department as a matter of practice dismisses questions about prisoner exchanges around the world, warning that they set a dangerous precedent.“Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working and living abroad,” the department’s spokesman, Ned Price, recently said.Better Understand the Russia-Ukraine WarHistory and Background: Here’s what to know about Russia and Ukraine’s relationship and the causes of the conflict.How the Battle Is Unfolding: Russian and Ukrainian forces are using a bevy of weapons as a deadly war of attrition grinds on in eastern Ukraine.Russia’s Brutal Strategy: An analysis of more than 1,000 photos found that Russia has used hundreds of weapons in Ukraine that are widely banned by international treaties.Outside Pressures: Governments, sports organizations and businesses are taking steps to punish Russia. Here are some of the sanctions adopted so far and a list of companies that have pulled out of the country.Stay Updated: To receive the latest updates on the war in your inbox, sign up here. The Times has also launched a Telegram channel to make its journalism more accessible around the world.Mr. Biden did agree to a prisoner exchange in April, in which Russia released Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine from Texas who had been held since 2019 on charges of assaulting two police officers. The United States in return freed Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot sentenced in 2011 to 20 years in prison for drug smuggling. But White House officials stressed that Mr. Reed’s failing health made his case exceptional.Many people have expressed support for Ms. Griner, a star athlete and basketball icon. Less obvious is the Russian government’s solidarity with an organized crime titan linked to terrorists and war criminals. In December, a government building in Moscow exhibited two dozen of Mr. Bout’s pencil sketches and other artwork produced from his cell in a federal penitentiary building near Marion, Ill.Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for more than four months. She was escorted to a court hearing outside Moscow earlier this week.Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated PressBy the time of his arrest in 2008, Mr. Bout (pronounced “boot”) was so known that an arms-trafficking character played by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 film “Lord of War” was based on his life.Born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, he attended a Russian military college and served as a Soviet air force officer.After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr. Bout began making money ferrying cargo between continents. U.S. officials say he soon became one of the world’s top arms dealers, transporting weapons from the former Soviet military in Ilyushin transport planes, with a particularly lucrative business in war-torn African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone. Mr. Bout denies that he knowingly trafficked arms.In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the United States and European nations were sure that Mr. Bout’s weapons shipments were not only fueling death and misery but also violating United Nations arms embargoes. They were particularly alarmed by intelligence suggesting he may have done business with the Afghan Taliban and even Al Qaeda, charges he denies.Eventually, the United States lured Mr. Bout into a trap. In 2008, a pair of Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as members of Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel group arranged a meeting in Bangkok with Mr. Bout to buy weapons including 30,000 AK-47 rifles, plastic explosives and surface-to-air missiles for use against Colombia’s government and the American military personnel supporting its campaign against the FARC.“Viktor Bout was ready to sell a weapons arsenal that would be the envy of some small countries,” Preet Bharara, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said after his conviction. “He aimed to sell those weapons to terrorists for the purpose of killing Americans.”The FARC’s official status at the time as a foreign terrorist organization meant that Mr. Bout drew a mandatory federal minimum sentence of 25 years.One former U.S. official familiar with Mr. Bout’s situation said the Russian government’s interest in his freedom appeared to be personal and that he has ties to powerful people close to President Vladimir V. Putin.Another former American official pointed to a somewhat more principled reason: Mr. Bout was arrested in Thailand and extradited from there to New York. Russian officials have complained about what they call the growing “practice used by the U.S. of actually hunting down our citizens abroad and arresting them in other nations,” as Grigory Lukyantsev, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights, said in August, according to the Russian news outlet RT.The first former U.S. official said it was highly unlikely that, given the magnitude of his crimes, Mr. Bout would be freed in any deal for Ms. Griner — even if, as some have speculated, the trade were to include Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Moscow since December 2018 on espionage charges. The former official said Russia had sought Mr. Bout’s release in even higher-profile cases in the past and had been firmly rejected.Both former officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their knowledge of Mr. Bout’s case publicly.Danielle Gilbert, an assistant professor of military and strategic studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy who specializes in hostage diplomacy, agreed that releasing Mr. Bout would be a difficult political proposition. But she did not rule out the idea. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re at least considering the possibility,” she said, noting that she does not speak for the U.S. government.Mr. Bout has at least one advocate for his release in the United States: Shira A. Scheindlin, the judge who presided over his case. In an interview, Ms. Scheindlin said that swapping Mr. Bout for Ms. Griner would be inappropriate, given the scale of his offense in relation to her alleged violation.But she said a deal that also included Mr. Whelan might even the scales. Mr. Bout has already served 11 years in prison, she noted, saying that “he was not a terrorist, in my opinion. He was a businessman.” Although she was required to impose his mandatory 25-year sentence, she added: “I thought it was too high at the time.”“So, having served as long as he has, I think the United States’ interest in punishing him has been satisfied,” she said, “and it would not be a bad equation to send him back if we get back these people who are important to us.”Even if the United States were open to such a deal, Mr. Zissou said it would not be imminent. He said he believed that Russia — which insists Ms. Griner faces legitimate charges and is not a political pawn — was determined to complete her trial before negotiating her release. “And that is likely to take a few months,” he said. More

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      Brittney Griner Trial Likely to End in Conviction, Experts Say

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      Courts in Russia heavily favor the prosecution, experts said, pointing to a prisoner swap as perhaps the W.N.B.A. star’s best chance to come home.More than four months after she was first detained, the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner is expected to appear in a Russian courtroom on Friday for the start of a trial on drug charges that legal experts said was all but certain to end in a conviction despite the clamor in the United States for her release.“There’s a bias mainly because the Russian judicial system says they really should not go to trial unless the defendant is going to be convicted,” said William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Kennan Institute and an expert on Russian law. “There’s no real idea or expectation that the defendant could be innocent. There’s no presumption of innocence, really.”Russian customs officials said they found vape cartridges containing traces of hashish oil in Griner’s luggage when she passed through a security checkpoint in an airport near Moscow on Feb. 17. The drug charges that Griner faces carry a sentence of up to 10 years at a penal colony.Aleksandr Boikov, Griner’s lawyer, said on Monday that he expected the trial to begin on Friday and last up to two months.“We do not know at this point what evidence they have,” Pomeranz said. “We don’t know how many volumes of evidence they want to read into the record, but usually, in this type of case, it’s formidable and significant.”W.N.B.A. players wearing shirts in support of Brittney Griner.Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune, via Associated PressGriner’s detainment arrives at a delicate geopolitical moment during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and amid Russia’s strained diplomatic relationships with the United States and some European countries. From the start of Griner’s detainment, her supporters feared that she could be used by Russia during the global conflict.In May, the U.S. State Department affirmed those concerns by declaring Griner had been “wrongfully detained.” That shifted responsibility for the case to the government bureau that leads and coordinates the United States’ diplomatic and strategic efforts on overseas hostage cases.“Brittney has been classified as wrongfully detained since April 29, which means that the U.S. government has determined she is being used as a political pawn and as a result, is engaging in negotiations for her release, regardless of the legal process,” Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said in an email on Wednesday. “As such, our expectation — Brittney’s family included — remains that President Biden get a deal done to bring her home.”Griner’s family and supporters are increasingly imploring President Biden and the U.S. government to secure Griner’s release.Kagawa Colas recently coordinated a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris signed by groups including the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Urban League and the National Action Network. The letter called for the government to strike a deal for Griner’s release.In April, Russia, after agreeing to a prisoner exchange, freed Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who was sentenced to nine years in prison after being accused of endangering Russian police officers during an altercation.Reed’s deteriorating health in Russia most likely played a factor in Moscow’s willingness to release him, said Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a Ph.D. student in the history department at the University of Pennsylvania, whose areas of study include African American experiences in the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Russia.“The problem is Brittney, politically, is worth so much more in terms of the trading of prisoners than Trevor Reed because of her profile. So the ask is going to be much bigger, and I think the ask that they’ve been telegraphing in the Russian news is for Viktor Bout,” said St. Julian-Varnon, who has consulted with the W.N.B.A. players’ union about Griner’s detainment.Bout, an international arms dealer, was convicted by an American court and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Russia also has interest in freeing Roman Seleznev, a hacker who was convicted in the United States for running a massive credit card and identity theft operation and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Besides Griner, Russia has also detained Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges.Viktor Bout, center, was convicted by an American court and sentenced to 25 years in prison.Reuters“This is the classic dilemma of hostage situations,” said Thomas Firestone, a former Justice Department official who worked in Moscow as a lawyer. “If you negotiate for the release, you may be encouraging future hostage taking. If you don’t, the person may never be released.”Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters on Tuesday that he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken to Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, in recent days.“The United States government is actively engaged in trying to resolve this case and get Brittney home,” Sullivan said. He added: “It has the fullest attention of the president and every senior member of his national security and diplomatic team. And we are actively working to find a resolution to this case and will continue to do so without rest until we get Brittney safely home.”On Tuesday, Russia announced it had barred Biden, the first lady, Jill Biden, and others from entering the country in response to far-ranging sanctions. The list included four senators: the Republicans Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Ben Sasse of Nebraska and the Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.“Free Brittney Griner,” Sasse said in a statement. “It’s no big deal when Putin throws a tantrum and bans Americans from Russia — but we’ve got a problem when he takes an American prisoner.”What to Know About Brittney Griner’s Detention in RussiaCard 1 of 5What happened? More

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      Brittney Griner’s Supporters Call on Biden to Strike a Deal to Free Her

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      Dozens of organizations representing people of color, women and L.G.B.T.Q. voters called on President Biden on Wednesday to strike a deal for the release of Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia since February.In a letter sent to Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the groups said Ms. Griner “continues to endure inhumane treatment, deprived of contact with her family.”The letter said the United States “has acknowledged that Brittney is essentially a political pawn in classifying her as wrongfully detained.” And while the signatories cited “deep appreciation” for the administration’s efforts to free Ms. Griner, “we now urge you to make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”The Phoenix Mercury basketball player was detained in Russia on Feb. 17 on accusations that she had hashish oil in her luggage. At first, Ms. Griner’s camp was worried that publicity could make the situation worse because of tensions between Russia and the United States, including the war in Ukraine.But the group’s approach has changed since the State Department said on May 3 that it had determined Ms. Griner had been “wrongfully detained.” That meant the United States could expend greater efforts toward bringing her home despite the legal action against her in Russia.In recent weeks, players with the W.N.B.A., working with Ms. Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and others, have tried to draw attention to her case.The latest effort, the letter from groups including the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Urban League and the National Action Network, was coordinated by Ms. Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, who worked with the Democratic strategist Karen Finney and others. The groups, which represent a coalition of constituencies that helped to elect Mr. Biden, are speaking out amid growing frustrations over the pace of the effort to bring Ms. Griner home.“To my understanding, they have not started negotiating her release, and so this letter is very powerful because it’s much-needed support to highlight the fact that we are at the phase where you guys should be making a deal,” Cherelle Griner said.“I wish I could say I have a clear understanding of it,” she said of the White House strategy. “They do a lot of talking in code with me.”The administration, she said, is “debating whether they should start negotiating,” when it has already been determined that her wife was wrongfully detained. “Instead, they’re debating and they’re wasting time from my wife’s life.”White House officials, commenting after this article was published online, said, “President Biden has been clear about the need to see all U.S. nationals who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad released, including Brittney Griner. The U.S. government continues to work aggressively — using every available means — to bring her home.”Administration officials have said Mr. Biden’s team is in regular contact with the Griner family and that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Cherelle Griner in May. The special envoy for hostage affairs is also in touch with Ms. Griner’s team.Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico and the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also has been working to try to free Ms. Griner and another American in Russia, the former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained since 2018.Still, Cherelle Griner said she was uncertain about how much the White House was prioritizing the case. She told The Associated Press that she was supposed to speak to her wife by phone for the first time in roughly four months over the weekend, but a logistical problem at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow upended the plans.According to The A.P., the embassy was supposed to facilitate the call between the two women. But when Brittney Griner called the embassy to get patched through to her wife in the United States, there was no answer. Brittney Griner’s lawyers said she tried calling the line 11 times while her wife waited in vain for the call, The A.P. reported.“I was distraught. I was hurt. I was done, fed up,” Cherelle Griner told The A.P. More

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      Brittney Griner’s Supporters Have a New Strategy to Free Her: Make Noise

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      Those close to Griner pursued a strategy of silence after her detention in Russia in February, hoping to avoid politicizing her case. Now they are amping up public pressure, with some of it aimed at President Biden.Her face is on hoodies. Her name is in hashtags. Her “B.G.” and number are on fans’ jerseys and W.N.B.A. courts.As the Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner waits in Russia, detained since Feb. 17 on drug charges, symbols of support for her are all around. They come from people who don’t know her at all and people who know and love her — from teammates, sympathizers and former coaches.Dawn Staley, who coached Griner and her U.S. teammates to a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics last year, said she thinks about her every day.“I know Brittney, I’ve been around her, know her heart. I know what she’s about,” Staley said. “And if she’s being wrongfully detained or not, I would be advocating for her release because nobody should be in a foreign country locked up abroad.”Staley has posted messages on Twitter about Griner every day since early May. “Can you please free our friend,” she wrote on Tuesday, tagging the official account for the White House. She added, “All of her loved ones would sleep a little easier.”It has been more than three months since Griner was detained, accused of having hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. But only in the last few weeks has there been a coordinated public campaign by W.N.B.A. players and by Griner’s wife, family, friends and agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, to push for her release. That’s where the hoodies — worn by many different players — and the initials — displayed on W.N.B.A. courts — come in. The #WeAreBG hashtag seen on warm-up shirts and social media is also part of the campaign.On Saturday, the W.N.B.A. players’ union posted messaging on social media marking the 100th day of Griner’s detention.Decals with Griner’s No. 42 and initials are on each court in the W.N.B.A.Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times, via Associated PressThe delay in starting the campaign was strategic: Griner’s camp was worried that publicity could make the situation worse because of tensions between Russia and the United States, including the war in Ukraine. But the delay has also been a source of frustration for women’s basketball players known for their social justice advocacy. Their approach has changed since the State Department said on May 3 that it had determined that Griner had been “wrongfully detained.”“Griner’s reclassification as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government cued our shift to the more public activist elements of our strategy,” Kagawa Colas said, adding that she could not elaborate out of respect for the sensitivity of the situation.Supporters have quickly joined in the new approach.“We’re more public,” said Terri Jackson, the executive director of the W.N.B.A. players’ union. One reason, she said, was the State Department’s determination, and another was the guidance of Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner.“She’s lead on this,” Jackson said. “She signaled through her team that she needed us, and that’s all we needed to hear.”Cherelle Griner appeared on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday and appealed to President Biden to intervene.“I just keep hearing that he has the power,” Cherelle Griner said. “She’s a political pawn. If they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”The State Department’s announcement this month said that Biden’s special envoy for hostage affairs would lead an interagency team to secure Griner’s release. But since then, Griner’s detention has been extended until June 18, and the Biden administration has said little about its maneuvering. Cherelle Griner said during the television interview that her only communication with her wife had been through occasional letters. She said she had been told that her wife’s release was a top priority, but she expressed skepticism.Representative Colin Allred, Democrat of Texas, has been speaking publicly about Brittney Griner’s detention and working with her representatives. He said Griner, who is from Houston, has had access to her attorney in Russia but has not been able to speak with her family. That violated international norms, he said.“The Russians need to be aware that we know what they’re doing, we know why they’re doing it and there will be consequences if anything should happen to her,” Allred said.Griner’s family and friends have sought to pressure Russia and Biden while also pleading for more support and news coverage in the United States.“There’s not enough conversations being had about Brittney and her release and just any talks of it,” said Staley, the women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina. “And I know there’s a process. I get that.”She added later: “There’s so many people that really know Brittney that aren’t doing anything, that aren’t sympathizing with the situation. I just want people to feel like it’s their loved one. And when you feel like it’s your loved one you would do anything to help. Everybody’s got to live their life, I get that, but come on. Empathize.”Fans have waged their own public campaign for Griner, even when those closest to her used a strategy of silence.Darryl Webb/Associated PressSeveral players in the W.N.B.A., and a few in the N.B.A., have begun publicly advocating Griner’s release; in the first two and a half months after Griner’s detention most had said only that they loved and missed her.Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, who was named the league’s most valuable player in 2018, posts daily on Twitter about Griner. DeWanna Bonner, who plays for the Connecticut Sun and was Griner’s teammate in Phoenix from 2013 to 2019, brought up Griner during a recent news conference.“One more thing,” she said. “Free B.G. We are B.G. We love B.G. Free her.”In mid-May, the W.N.B.A. players’ union became an official partner on a Change.org petition addressed to the White House, which urged Biden to do “whatever is necessary” to bring Griner home safely. The petition was started in March by Tamryn Spruill, a freelance journalist who has written for several media outlets, including The New York Times, about the W.N.B.A. Griner’s representatives at Wasserman promoted the petition to news outlets.In an interview with ESPN on May 17, N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver was asked what role the league should play in Griner’s situation. The N.B.A. owns 42.1 percent of the W.N.B.A.What to Know About Brittney Griner’s Detention in RussiaCard 1 of 5What happened? More