Russia responded through its Foreign Ministry on Thursday to strong criticism from the United States over the jailing of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
While the United States had labeled the imprisonment of WNBA star Brittney Griner for drug trafficking as “wrongful detention”Russia reacted by saying that this American reaction showed a lack of respect for Russian law, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
The Phoenix Mercury star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has been held in a Russian prison since mid-February for smuggling vaping cartridges containing cannabis oil into the country.
Griner pleaded guilty earlier this month, but said she had no intention of breaking the law. During her trial, Griner’s lawyers provided documents from a US medical center that had authorized the player in 2020 to use medical cannabis to treat chronic pain.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said US laws do not extend to Russia. “If an American citizen has been caught smuggling drugs, and she doesn’t deny it, it should be commensurate with our local Russian laws, not those passed in San Francisco, New York and Washington »Zakharova said.
“You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and it has been for a long time, the whole country will become addicted, that does not mean that all other countries have to follow the same path Zakharova added.
Possession of cannabis cartridges for any purpose is illegal in Russia. The charges can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Griner’s trial resumes Tuesday.
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