It has been a waiting game around the world to see when Russia would finally set a trial date for Brittney Griner and the trial is set to begin on July 1. While the start date for the trial being set is a step in the right direction, in court on Monday, Griner was ordered to be detained for an additional six months in a preliminary hearing. Throughout the waiting game, it has been said numerous times by the United States State Department that Griner is being detained unlawfully.
Over the last four months, Griner has been forced to stay in a Russian prison while awaiting her trial which has been pushed back on multiple occasions. During her detainment, the State Department has been working to negotiate her release, but it does not seem much progress has been made yet, and if it has, that information has not been shared publicly.
Rumors have flown the U.S. has put Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens up as a possible trade to get Griner back on U.S. soil, but that trade has not been confirmed. Not only has it not been confirmed, but it has been highly criticized by Americans considering the crimes committed by the two involved in the trade do not come remotely close to being equal.
It has also been suggested Griner could be traded in tandem with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction. In the same scenario as Griner, the United States has repeatedly described Whelan’s arrest and conviction as a set-up which was fabricated. Whelan was serving his time in the same prison that Trevor Reed was being held in prior to his return to the U.S. in May.
Unfortunately for Griner, it appears as though she will have to stand trial regardless of how fabricated her case was by the Russian government. If a swap is actually arranged for Griner and Whelan, Griner will first have to be convicted and sentenced for her crime before the United States is able to apply for a presidential pardon according to Maria Yarmush, a lawyer specializing in international civil affairs. Fewer than one percent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the U.S., acquittals can be overturned.
Amidst the unrest in Russia and Ukraine and the current tensions between the United States and Russia, this negotiation is one that will need to be handled gently by the State Department in the coming weeks to keep hope alive that Griner will return to the U.S. anytime soon.
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