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Added on the 04/08/2022 18:03:22 - Copyright : Euronews EN
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urges Moscow to accept the United States' "substantial offer" of a deal for the release of basketball star Brittney Griner and another American citizen, after Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges. "We are willing to take every step possible to bring home our people," adds Jean-Pierre during a press briefing. SOUNDBITE
American basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty Thursday to drug possession charges on the second day of her trial in a Russian court in a case that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a remote Russian penal colony and has started serving her sentence. The IK-2 penal colony is in the town of Yavas in the central region of Mordovia - a few hundred kilometres southeast of Moscow - known for its harsh climate. IK stands for a "corrective colony", the most common type of prison in Russia. IMAGES
Russian hopes for а prisoner swap with the United States that would include convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death", are strengthening, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Friday by Interfax. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis tells us more
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted on 4 August after authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage
"I would say to everyone that is wrongfully detained right now across the world: stay strong, keep fighting, don't give up," says Brittney Griner, US women's basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury team, as she holds her first press conference since her release from a Russian prison. SOUNDBITE
Vladimir Kara-Murza has rejected the charges against him as political and likened the judicial proceedings against him to the show trials during the rule of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
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