During the trial, Griner has testified that she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis and had no intention of bringing the drug into Russia. Following her detention in February, she was tested for drugs and was clean, her lawyers previously said.
Elizabeth Rood, the charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow, was attending Tuesday’s hearing.
US officials did not accept the request as a legitimate counteroffer, the sources told CNN, in part because the proposal was sent through an informal FSB backchannel. Krasikov’s release would also be complicated because he is currently in German custody.
“It’s a bad faith attempt to avoid a very serious offer and proposal that the United States has put forward and we urge Russia to take that offer seriously,” Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told CNN, later adding, “We very much want to see Brittany and Paul come home to their families where they belong.”
In the meantime, Griner’s trial carries on, with her legal team expected to continue questioning more witnesses before moving to closing arguments, during which the lawyers will elaborate on why they believe Griner’s detention was handled improperly. The closing arguments will likely place in the coming weeks and no verdict is expected at Tuesday’s hearing.
Attorneys make the case for an ‘improper’ detention
Griner’s attorneys have already laid out some arguments claiming the basketball player’s detention was not handled correctly after she was stopped by personnel at the Sheremetyevo International Airport on February 17.
Griner’s detention, search and arrest were “improper,” Alexander Boykov, one of her lawyers, said last week, noting more details would be revealed during closing arguments.
No lawyer was present, she testified, and she said her rights were not explained to her. Those rights would include access to an attorney once she was detained and the right to know what she was suspected of. Under Russian law, she should have been informed of her rights within three hours of her arrest.
In her testimony, Griner “explained to the court that she knows and respects Russian laws and never intended to break them,” one of Griner’s lawyers, Maria Blagovolina, said after last week’s hearing.
The detained player testified that she was aware of Russian laws and had no intention of bringing the cannabis oil into the country, saying that she was in a rush and “stress packing.”
Griner confirmed she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis, Blagovolina said, which she uses to treat knee pain and joint inflammation.
“We continue to insist that, by indiscretion, in a hurry, she packed her suitcase and did not pay attention to the fact that substances allowed for use in the United States ended up in this suitcase and arrived in the Russian Federation,” Boykov has said.
Griner’s family, supporters and WNBA teammates continue expressing messages of solidarity and hope as they wait for the conclusion of the trial and look forward to the potential of her release.
This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Travis Caldwell, Anna Chernova, Dakin Andone, Kylie Atwood, Evan Perez, Jennifer Hansler, Natasha Bertrand, Frederik Pleitgen, Chris Liakos and Zahra Ullah contributed to this report.
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