Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova is speaking out against the U.S. as Americans continue their effort to free WNBA superstar Brittney Griner. According to the Associated Press, Zakharova said it’s disrespectful for the U.S. to describe Griner’s case as a “wrongful detention.”
“If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” Zakharova said, AP reports.
Nearly three months after Russian officials arrested Griner at an airport for allegedly carrying cannabis oil in her luggage, the U.S. State Department designated the basketball star as wrongfully detained.
Appearing in court earlier this month, Griner said she didn’t have any intent to break the law.
“I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Griner told the judge, according to Reuters. “I’d like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare.”
WNBA players, along with NBA stars and many other supporters, are continuing to speak up for the Phoenix Mercury standout. Still, legal experts said the case could take a long time, as Blavity previously reported.
“You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path,” Zakharova said.
Griner, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, is scheduled to resume her trial Tuesday.
