By Jerome A. Cohen
The US has lumped Griner’s case together with those of other Americans “wrongfully” detained abroad including in China. The USG has recently said Griner is being held in “intolerable circumstances”. Yet I have seen no explanation why Griner’s detention has been deemed wrongful. Was it politically motivated? Are others who bring in cannabis, as she admittedly did, usually exempted from detention and prosecution? Is it because she has unreasonably been denied bail pending trial? Is it because she has indeed been subjected to intolerable conditions in detention? The US Deputy Chief of Mission in its Moscow Embassy, even while repeating the “wrongful” accusation, has reported that Griner has been reading and doing well in detention.
Observers of Chinese criminal justice must be interested in comparisons with the Griner trial. A US diplomat who can attend the trial and chat with the accused and hand her a letter from President Biden? Media that report on the trial and statements of the accused? Defense lawyers who can discuss the case with the media? A trial that drags on for many days in the kind of case that Chinese courts – and most others – would dispose of in a couple of hours, especially when the defendant pleads guilty?
It would be good to hear more from the US State Department and specialists in Russian criminal justice in order to enhance our appreciation of what is going on. Specialists in Chinese criminal justice should also feel provoked to comment on the need for more facts and on how the same case might be handled in China.