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'Serious procedural violations': Brittney Griner seeks appeal while prisoner swap discussed [1]
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Date: 2022-08-15
“The details should be left to professionals, based on the principle of ‘do no harm,’" Darchiev said.
He confirmed that Griner; Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine convicted in Moscow of espionage; and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer held in a penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, could be involved in the exchange.
President Joe Biden ‘s administration has expressed a willingness to free Bout in exchange for Griner and Whelan, the Times reported.
CIA Director William Burns condemned the position Russia has put the United States in during the Aspen Security Forum. “These are awful and shameful steps to hold American citizens for political leverage (...),” Burns said. “The Russians are quite coldblooded about this right now.”
Aleksandr Boikov, an attorney on Griner's legal team, told the Times the Khimki Court that sentenced Griner outside of Moscow had disregarded “serious procedural violations during detention, extraction of physical evidence, arrest and investigation.”
He said the alleged violations mean Griner could be acquitted on procedural grounds, even though she pleaded guilty. He said the verdict did “not correspond to the current legal practice of Russian courts.”
“It was unprecedentedly harsh,” he added in the statement to the Times.
The Phoenix Mercury, Griner's WNBA team, released its statement of support for her in March. The WNBA named Griner, already a seven-time WNBA All-Star, an honorary All-Star.
“It is not difficult to imagine that if BG were here with us this season, she would once again be selected and would, no doubt, show off her incredible talents,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in the WNBA's All-Star announcement. “So, it is only fitting that she be named as an honorary starter today and we continue to work on her safe return to the U.S."
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/15/2116770/--Serious-procedural-violations-Brittney-Griner-seeks-appeal-while-prisoner-swap-discussed
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