Brittney Griner: Is it worth the effort?

Brittney Griner, WNBA player received a nine-year sentence today in Russia after she admitted to possessing hashish oil. Not because she is guilty — that is irrelevant — but because no one deserves to spend nine years in Russian prison for minor drug offences. The Putin government uses Griner to help the US free Viktor Bout (an arms dealer currently in US prison). Washington appears to be seriously considering the matter.

What kind of trade is that? An arms dealer who traded a pothead basketball player to a drug-runner for many people’s lives. Griner must have been aware that Russia had banned cannabis. Why would she risk her life to obtain cannabis in Russia? She was wrongly sentenced. But are you really going to trade Brittney Griner for a truly evil Russian man?

Why are these even considered? A former US diplomat questions whether Griner receives special treatment by the Biden administration. He wrote, in part:

The rule is simple: abroad, Americans are subject to the host country’s laws and legal system, whether that be Great Britain or Russia. The Bill of Rights doesn’t follow Americans into foreign countries. The US government will not intervene on behalf of the host country. If you bring marijuana into Japan, it could land you in prison for years. It doesn’t matter how small the amount is, it can be used for your personal consumption back at home. Anything over an ounce is considered to be illegal in Japan and can result in a lengthy sentence.

It is important to know that I was a State Department employee who spent seven years visiting American prisoner in Japan. Their arrests resulted in three main reasons: drugs, drugs and more drugs. Similar to Brittney Griner. Griner and them differ in that I wasn’t allowed to advocate for shorter sentences or help them escape.

The only exception was if you were “wrongly detained,” [sic] a special category that allows the US government to actively help free those designated. The secretary of state can make that call as there is no standard. It is not clear how many Americans have been identified.

The State Department declared Griner “wrongfully Detained”. This is despite the fact that she had admitted breaking Russian law and evidence was in her bag when she arrived in Moscow. Is it possible to illegally smuggle drugs into Russia, you idiot? Griner knew that Russia is the only place where drug possession is legal.

In 2020, Griner, an out lesbian and woke political activist, told the media that she would refuse to go onto the court while the National Anthem was being played. Back then, she said:

“I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season, I think we should take that much of a stand. I will protest. I won’t be there to sing the national anthem. It’s okay if the league wants to continue to perform it. The league will continue to play it all season, and I won’t be there. It seems like many others will do the exact same thing. Only I can speak for myself. “

It’s her right, but it doesn’t justify the long sentence she is serving. However, to the Unwoken-American community that renders her less sympathetic than it might otherwise have made. Van Buren writes that there are 4,000 Americans around the world who have, according to the State Department, been “wrongfully detained.” Why is Griner being given such high-profile US Government treatment? He continues:

During my State Department career, I visited hundreds of American prisoners abroad, from celebrities and white-collar criminals dealing with multi-millions of dollars at issue to near-homeless Americans trying to make a quick drug score. None of the prisoners felt that he was rightfully held. Most felt that their sentences were excessively long for the crimes they had committed. But I was under strict and standing orders not to advocate for any of them, to allow the host country process to play out as it would.

What makes Brittney Griner different than Marc Fogel, Lieutenant Alkonis, or the hundreds of other cases I have seen from Mr. Biden. They will have to be held in foreign jails for a possible future election cycle, when they are the peers that a president wants to impress.

Van Buren says Brittney Griner, a black lesbian, is in talks with the Russians to exchange a convicted arms dealer for Brittney Griner. Her outspokenness and identity make her a favorite among certain Democratic Party constituents. The US government is currently in negotiations with Russia to exchange a convicted weapons dealer for Brittney Griner, a black lesbian athlete and pothead who won’t support her country’s horribly racist national anthem. This is Biden’s America.

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Free Brittney Gruiner? Absolutely. This sentence is not appropriate for her. But if bringing her home after she knowingly tried to smuggle drugs into Russia means letting Viktor Bout — a would-be murderer of Americans, international arms dealer, a helper of terrorists, and likely a Russian spy — go home, it’s not worth it. Not even close — and not even with the former American Marine Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia for allegedly having a thumb drive with classified information on it, included in the deal.

Are there any other US citizens being held in Russia without warrant? What grounds is the State Department claiming she was unlawfully detained? Unless the Russians are supposed to turn a blind eye when a professional athlete bearing identity characteristics from not one but two ruling-class-approved victim groups breaks their drug laws…