ОГЛЯД

An American basketball player held in Russia since February for possession of cannabis oil pleaded guilty in a Russian court Thursday.  

“I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Brittney Griner, 31, said, speaking English, which was then translated into Russian for the court.  

“I’d like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare,” she added.  

The WNBA star, who also played in Russia, could face 10 years in prison.  

She is due back in court on July 14.  

The trial began Friday, July 1, and resumed Thursday.  

On Monday, Griner sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden asking him to “do all you can” for her and other Americans detained or held hostage in Russia.  

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that Biden has read the letter.  

Griner’s representatives shared parts of the letter Monday.  

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote.  

The White House said Wednesday that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with the detained basketball player’s wife, Cherelle Griner, to stress that the administration is working to secure her release from Russia as soon as possible.    

Russian officials have maintained a hard line toward Griner.  

“This is a serious offense, confirmed by indisputable evidence. … Attempts to present the case as if the American was detained illegally do not hold up,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said Wednesday.  

In a tweet, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said officials with the U.S Embassy in Moscow attended Brittney Griner’s trial “and delivered to her a letter from President Biden.”   

“We will not relent until Brittney, Paul Whelan, and all other wrongfully detained Americans are reunited with their loved ones,” he added. 

 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  
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The Canadian government said Monday it had signed a $15.5 billion agreement to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by chronic underfunding of child welfare. 

The Assembly of First Nations and plaintiffs in two class action lawsuits agreed to the deal. 

Indigenous Services Canada, a government agency, said the settlement is the largest in Canadian history. 

“The parties have agreed on a plan for settling compensation claims to recognize the families and people who have suffered tremendously through discriminatory and systemically racist child-welfare practices,” said Patty Hajdu, the Indigenous services minister. 

The settlement accounts for half of an overall $31.1 billion deal that aims to reform Canada’s child welfare system, including five-year funding for the First Nations Child and Family Services program. 

The settlement must still be approved by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Federal Court. 

Cindy Woodhouse, the Manitoba regional chief at the Assembly of First Nations, praised the deal. 

“And after three decades of advocacy and months of negotiations, I’m proud to say on behalf the AFN that we have reached another historic milestone for our children and their families,” she said in a statement. 

The First Nations Children and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act in 2007, arguing that Indigenous child welfare services were chronically underfunded compared with services provided to children in other communities. 

Data from the 2016 census shows that less than 8% of Canadian children under age 15 are Indigenous, but Indigenous youths make up more than half the children under 15 in foster care. 

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in 2016 that the federal government had discriminated against First Nations children. The government appealed the ruling, but the court upheld the decision.
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