American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is hoping that the Russian court will hear her appeal arguments tomorrow and reduce her nine-year prison sentence, her legal team said on Monday.
“She is prepared for the appeal and is very nervous. Brittney does not expect any miracles to happen, but hopes that the appeal court will hear the arguments of the defense and reduce the number of years,” her lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said.
Her legal team expects a verdict on her appeal tomorrow because appeal hearings normally happen within one court session.
“The appeal court can leave the verdict as is; it can overrule it and send back to the court of the first instance; it can reduce the number of years,” they said.
Griner’s lawyers see her often in Russia and said she is under mounting stress because of how long she has been detained.
“We see her often. Brittney is very mentally strong and has a champion’s character. However, she of course has her highs and lows as she is under an increasing amount of stress and has been separated from her loved ones for over eight months,” Blagovolina and Boykov said.
Griner remains in the detention center where she has been during all these months and tomorrow she will attend the hearing through videoconference, the lawyers said.
Griner was convicted of deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years of jail time in August in a case that has raised concerns she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
SOURCE: Kylie Atwood
D-Ample Newspaper 