[Leftcoast]

I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have received a lengthy prison sentence if she hadn't been useful as a lever to use against US interests.

I am interested in knowing why you believe that. Russian citizens, who are not of much use to anyone it seems, get sentences like that all the time. There is no particular reason to believe, as far as I know, that foreigners are treated any better. A Russian at least might be low visibility enough to bribe somebody if they had enough money. Otherwise, they pretty much get what Griner got.

Sure she needn't have played in Russia but until recently that was the way MANY WNBA stars (and many former Stanford stars) made off-season money.  My guess is this wasn't the first time Griner and others carried CBDs.  I'd never do it, you'd never do it, it was stupid, but athletes aren't known for their wise decisions in this.

You are correct, and such unwise decisions often have horrible consequences. That is why the US State Department has to be much more aggressive in keeping US citizens out of countries where we don't believe the justice system is free from government interference. Note that doesn't include places like Indonesia, where the penalty for possession to sell is death. The law there isn't corrupt, it is just harsh. Talk to the Australian's about it.

I used to travel to Singapore frequently.  Before you were allowed entry you were required to sign a document stating that you knew entering Singapore with certain narcotics was punishable by execution/death.  I had a colleague with a bitter/vengeful step-daughter who was also a drug user (his words) and he would re-pack his bag at the airport before boarding our plane.  Signing that statement, no matter how "clean" you knew you were, was always a gut-check.  I'm not unmindful of penalties for carrying banned substances internationally.

But to get to your question - Yes, it's very likely Griner received a harsher sentence than an ordinary Russian.  From a news article published before her sentencing:

Foreigners tend to receive stricter sentences

“At her level, 0.7 grams of hashish oil is considered a significant quantity and the majority of cases end in a prison term. If she receives a sentence longer than three years, it’s likely politically motivated, but otherwise, it’s just an illustration of the sort of people serving jail time for drug smuggling in Russia.”

At nine years Griner received 3x the expected penalty and threshold for a politically motivated sentence. The full article uses the Griner case to discuss how Russia uses drug laws to silence critics and go after perceived enemies.  Also discusses collusion between narcotics traffickers and security forces who in many cases both arrest users and profit from trafficking.  

.

Here's the article from the news arm of Aljazeera providing an interesting outsider's viewpoint even with its jabs sent our nation's way.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26...ce-critics

[Leftcoast]

I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have received a lengthy prison sentence if she hadn't been useful as a lever to use against US interests.

I am interested in knowing why you believe that. Russian citizens, who are not of much use to anyone it seems, get sentences like that all the time. There is no particular reason to believe, as far as I know, that foreigners are treated any better. A Russian at least might be low visibility enough to bribe somebody if they had enough money. Otherwise, they pretty much get what Griner got.

Sure she needn't have played in Russia but until recently that was the way MANY WNBA stars (and many former Stanford stars) made off-season money.  My guess is this wasn't the first time Griner and others carried CBDs.  I'd never do it, you'd never do it, it was stupid, but athletes aren't known for their wise decisions in this.

You are correct, and such unwise decisions often have horrible consequences. That is why the US State Department has to be much more aggressive in keeping US citizens out of countries where we don't believe the justice system is free from government interference. Note that doesn't include places like Indonesia, where the penalty for possession to sell is death. The law there isn't corrupt, it is just harsh. Talk to the Australian's about it.

I used to travel to Singapore frequently.  Before you were allowed entry you were required to sign a document stating that you knew entering Singapore with certain narcotics was punishable by execution/death.  I had a colleague with a bitter/vengeful step-daughter who was also a drug user (his words) and he would re-pack his bag at the airport before boarding our plane.  Signing that statement, no matter how "clean" you knew you were, was always a gut-check.  I'm not unmindful of penalties for carrying banned substances internationally.

But to get to your question - Yes, it's very likely Griner received a harsher sentence than an ordinary Russian.  From a news article published before her sentencing:

Foreigners tend to receive stricter sentences

“At her level, 0.7 grams of hashish oil is considered a significant quantity and the majority of cases end in a prison term. If she receives a sentence longer than three years, it’s likely politically motivated, but otherwise, it’s just an illustration of the sort of people serving jail time for drug smuggling in Russia.”

At nine years Griner received 3x the expected penalty and threshold for a politically motivated sentence. The full article uses the Griner case to discuss how Russia uses drug laws to silence critics and go after perceived enemies.  Also discusses collusion between narcotics traffickers and security forces who in many cases both arrest users and profit from trafficking.  

.

Here's the article from the news arm of Aljazeera providing an interesting outsider's viewpoint even with its jabs sent our nation's way.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26...ce-critics