There are many cases in the media of non celebrities receiving outrageous sentences or dying mysteriously when visiting other countries. Celebrities of course receive more attention for anything they do.
I do agree that one should follow the law when visiting a country but this is clearly an unfair political sentence even considering the harshest possible Russian sentences on cannabis.
If a Russian is caught with such a small amount of personal use cannabis the first time, the sentence is 15 days maximum in a jail if the judge really hates you. Normally only a fine. The MAXIMUM sentence for possession of the highest amount is 3 years.
She had a partially smoked e-cigarette which cannot be trafficked in any way and clearly for personal use. The MAXIMUM sentence for trafficking cannabis is 10 years and they recommended an absurd 9.5.
The USA gives much higher maximum sentences for trafficking but you have to understand 10 years in a gulag is near certain death or disability. That is like a 80 year sentence in the USA - very few get to live afterward.
A near maximum sentence of 9 years in a gulag for a partial ecig is clearly a political action. In such cases, the embassy of the USA nearly always becomes involved to protect their citizens abroad even if not mentioned in the media.
I’ll care about liberal celebrities who break the law in foreign countries when some democrat gives a damn about Ashli Babbitt being assassinated at point blank range by a capitol cop.
As you state, the USA is likely working behind the scenes to get her out but the price is going to be high, due to the situation. If I was Putin, I would publicly state that Griner would get released as soon as the J6 political prisoners are released in the USA. Why would Putin want to do that? It would put the current Administration, which Putin hates, in a real pickle, because it would draw much needed attention to the fact that we are doing to our own citizens (political persecution) what we criticize other nations for doing to theirs.
If I were Griner, I would be rooting for Trump to get re-elected to office. President Trump would get her out and you can take that to the bank.
According to this source she carried “vape cartridges containing cannabis oil”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russian-judge-rules-brittney-griner-illegally-carried-drugs
So—we are not talking just a “a partially smoked e-cigarette”.
Your argument for the defense fails—and there is no way a Russian judge would fall for it.
She was convicted of possessing two cartridges containing 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil. I have no sympathy for her. That Russia’s own citizens would be treated more leniently is irrelevant, as she is not one of their citizens. She was guest in their country and she broke the laws of Russia. She previously bashed America as racist and homophobic. She made her bed, and she’s now sleeping in it.