A misconception about the Russian legal system may have skewed public perception of Brittney Griner's detainment

• WNBA superstar Brittney Griner has been in Russia on purported drug charges since February.
• Americans may think Griner's guilty despite her US government designation as "wrongfully detained."

Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for more than three months.

The 6-foot-9 WNBA superstar was taken into custody after agents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport claimed they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

The Biden administration quietly worked to negotiate her release and safe return to the US in the early days following her arrest, which WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told Insider was part of an internal strategy to "say less and push more privately."

But early in May, the US shifted its strategy by officially designating Griner as "wrongfully detained." The move sends a "strong signal that the US government does not believe that there is a legitimate case against her," one expert who has navigated several hostage situations previously told Insider. The expert asked to be anonymous to respect Griner's negotiations, but the person's identity is known to Insider.

Even despite the designation — which Esquire Digital chief legal analyst Aron Solomon told Insider is "diplomat speak for 'the charges are BS'" — plenty of Americans may have presumed Griner's guilt.

But the supposition that the Russian government, law enforcement, or judicial system can and should be trusted is a radically dangerous one, Solomon warned.

"It's very typical for American readers to not understand this, but I think it's critically important point: Russia does not have rule of law," Solomon told Insider. "I know that sometimes in America we talk too much about rule of law and we speak about it in very abstract terms, but rule of law means things like you can't just grab someone from an airport and keep them until you think you're ready not to."

This is why the Russian government has been able to extend Griner's detention with no clear end date in sight. It's why she made a seemingly impromptu court appearance a full six days before she was scheduled for her next hearing.

And it's why, should her case ever go to trial — which Solomon is deeply skeptical it will — Griner almost certainly "will not be afforded a fair and equitable legal process," he said. After all, there's a reason why the conviction rate in Russia is greater than 99%.

"Presumption of guilt is a Russian thing in the context of how foreigners are perceived," Solomon said. "In America, we should be more evolved and presume innocence."

Solomon expects one of two things to play out as Griner remains in Russian custody. At some point in the future — whether it be in a week, a month, or a year — the US and Russia could partake in "a political detainee exchange," similar to the one that freed fellow American detainee Trevor Reed late last month. Russian media sources have suggested that the Kremlin may agree to trade Griner for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms trafficker dubbed "the Merchant of Death."

The second possibility, Solomon says, "is that we will simply learn that she has been tried and sentenced on the Russian law." Griner — who faces up to 10 years in prison based on her charges — could even wind up serving her sentence in "a Russian labor camp," like American detainee Paul Whelan.

Given the gravity of her current circumstances, both Solomon and the aforementioned hostage negotiation expert are deeply skeptical that Griner has committed a crime.

"If people really unpack the narrative, they'll find someone with far too much to lose here," Solomon said. "A great income playing basketball as a superstar there, the possibility of a decade in a labor camp if she made the same drug mistakes that some Americans have made in Russia — it just doesn't add up that she'd be that reckless."

"People need to dig deeper," he added.

Griner's agent, Lindsay Colas, previously told Insider in a statement that "regardless of Russian legal proceedings... we expect the White House to use all options to bring [Griner] home immediately and safely."