US Basketball Star Brittney Griner Will Appear in Russian Court
More than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession, American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing ahead of her trial.
The Phoenix Mercury star, considered in some polls to be the United States’ most gifted female athlete, could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs. Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the U.S., acquittals can be overturned.
The trial date has not been announced, but is expected soon; Griner was recently ordered to remain in pretrial detention until July 2. The hearing, held behind closed doors in the court of the Moscow suburb of Khimki, was set to address procedural issues.
