A 2019 incident in which an American white woman was caught with 19 grams of marijuana in Russia has resurfaced following the Brittney Griner sentencing.
Audrey Lorber, who was 19 at the time, served roughly two months in a Russian prison after she was found guilty of smuggling 19 grams of THC while on family vacation. She was also fined 15,000 rubles, which is equivalent to about $375 American dollars.
The New York Post confirmed that Lorber was found guilty of “attempting to import marijuana purchased in the US into Russia.”
“Everybody talking about the law in Russia and the law is the law but LITERALLY in 2019 Audrey Lorber was arrested for THE EXACT SAME THING and she had 19 grams! 19! Guess what her sentence was,” asked a Twitter user.
As previously reported by REVOLT, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian judge on Thursday (Aug. 4). The WNBA superstar was also ordered to pay a fine of one-million rubles which equals to $16,400 U.S. dollars.
An attorney representing Griner has confirmed that her legal team is prepared to appeal the sentence.
“We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities,” said the Phoenix Mercury star’s lawyer Maria Blagovolina.
Furthermore, she noted that the team is “very disappointed and very upset” with the verdict.
“Sentences for this article of the criminal court, they usually are not so severe,” Blagovolina continued. “Usually, it’s like five and a half or six years. So nine years, it’s pretty unusual, and it contradicts the existing court practice in Russia.”
Although they plan to file the appeal as quickly as possible, another attorney working on Griner’s behalf says it can take up to months before they see another trial.