Brittney Griner set for a fourth day of hearings in her Russia drug trial

Her fate is caught up in the diplomatic crisis between Washington and Moscow over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, and her supporters are hoping the two countries will reach a deal on a prisoner exchange involving Griner. Her trial has seen unusual secrecy, with journalists allowed only limited access and fully barred from the proceedings on Thursday.

The athlete’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, a partner with the firm Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin & Partners, said she will not be testifying Friday. More witnesses for Griner will be called instead, Blagovolina said.

Friday’s hearing will be the fourth day in a trial that her defense team expects will involve up to five hearings. Her sentencing date is unknown, but Russian officials have stated that no discussions on a prisoner exchange will occur before the trial concludes.

The U.S. State Department says Griner has been wrongfully detained, with the White House describing the circumstances of that detention as “intolerable.”

The outcry over her arrest has eclipsed the U.S. public’s concern over Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran and security consultant serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of espionage in a closed trial in 2020. He says he was framed.

Given Griner’s fame as a Phoenix Mercury center and entreaties for the Biden administration to secure her release, Russia has made the most of its leverage, repeatedly warning that public pressure will not help her cause. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov urged U.S. authorities “not to exploit this sensitive matter affecting the fates of certain individuals, and we advise them to abandon futile attempts to pressure us.”

Washington, she said, should “work through established channels. It simply won’t work any other way.”

There is growing speculation about a possible swap involving Griner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving 25 years in the United States for conspiring to sell arms to a foreign terrorist group and conspiring to kill U.S. citizens. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said his top priority is to secure the release of Griner, Whelan and other Americans he said are wrongly imprisoned overseas.

Griner recently wrote to Biden begging him not to forget her and other detainees, saying, “I’m terrified I might be here forever.” Biden wrote back in a letter that U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Elizabeth Rood was able to hand her last week.