Imprisoned basketball player Brittney Griner’s guilty plea to drug charges may play a role in speeding up her exit from Russia, but it’s a risky gamble that may have significant downsides, a hostage expert told Fox News Digital.
“I can’t say that’s the right or the wrong thing to do because, in any event, the Russian system … it’s not our system,” said Hugh Dugan, the acting special envoy for hostage affairs during the Trump administration. “But that’s the gamble based on the direction that her attorneys counsel her.
“To our eyes, it looks like, OK, this gets her into that status where they can do a [prisoner] swap.”
Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges July 7, has been held in Russia since February after Russian authorities say they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
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