Imprisoned basketball player Brittney Griner’s guilty plea to drug charges may play a role in speeding her departure from Russia, but it’s a risky bet that could have major downsides, a hostage expert told Fox News Digital. “I can’t say that this is the right thing or the wrong thing to do because, in any case, the Russian system … is not our system,” said Hugh Duggan, the acting special envoy for hostage affairs during the during the Trump administration. “But that’s the bet based on the direction her lawyers are advising her. “In our eyes, it looks like, OK, that puts her in that status where they can do one [prisoner] exchange.” Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges July 7 has been held in Russia since February after Russian authorities said they found vaping cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. RUSSIAN PRISONER BRITNEY GREENER AND THE EVOLVING TREND OF HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY The guilty plea does not end the case, but some have suggested it could speed up the process along with Griner’s release from prison. She could be eligible for a prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington, DC Dugan explained that, according to the books, Griner would have to return to the US and finish her sentence in an American prison, which he believes would not happen in any formal way if she did. WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives for a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, July 7, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images) “In this kind of prisoner exchange, you’re supposed to finish your sentences and respect the judgment of each respective country,” he said, adding that “I’d doubt the Russians would force their guy to go to jail one more time. many years. “That would mean setting up a specific prison here for the next ten years, at least, if it was a bona fide prisoner exchange under our consular procedures and our agreements with Russia on these matters,” Duggan added. “We didn’t see that happening with [Trevor] Cane. Not even when I was playing did I see it happen with these kinds of settings.” BRITTNEY GRINER HAD A DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS IN THE US Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former DIA intelligence officer, explained that most details of any dealings would remain out of the public eye and inside diplomatic channels. “They don’t want anything public,” he said. “The one thing about the Russian system that is very, very different from the American system is that there is virtually no independent judicial process, especially in high-visibility cases like this.” WNBA superstar Brittney Griner sits inside a defendant’s cage during a hearing at the Khimki Court in the city of Khimki outside Moscow, July 15, 2022. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images) “The Russians say he’s not being held illegally. He had drugs,” Koffler continued. “It’s basically the collision of two legal systems.” He added that it depends on “what Putin wants”. ENES KANTER FREEDOM CALLS LEBRON JAMES: ‘IT BREAKS MY HEART WHEN PEOPLE TAKE THEIR FREEDOM FOR GRANT’ Dugan worried that by pleading guilty — even if Griner intends to make herself eligible for a prisoner swap and speed her exit from Moscow — Griner strengthened Russia’s negotiating position. Part of the issue arises from Griner’s “admission” to her criminal activity, which Duggan argued makes it difficult to characterize her as a hostage. He noted that officials had a hard time arguing her status as a “hostage” as she had been in pre-trial proceedings for months already, meaning her condition would be more of a “wrongfully detained” one. WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted into a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, June 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) “It’s a roll of the dice on what we’re dealing with,” he said, noting that if Griner tried to maintain her innocence, Russian courts could set her next hearing months or even years later. “Russia will do whatever it wants anyway… It’s a no-win situation, no matter what.” And Griner is not the only American in custody in Russia. Trevor Reed recently returned home, but Paul Whelan, an executive at auto supplier BorgWarner, remains in prison after being left out of the prisoner swap that brought Reed home. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which tracks Americans held illegally in foreign countries, lists more than 60 American citizens held in countries that include Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Venezuela. , among others, according to Reuters. Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
