A Russian court on Tuesday upheld U.S basketball star Brittney Griner’s 9-year sentence to a Russian penal colony, following a legal proceeding that a White House official called a “sham.”
Griner was arrested in a Moscow airport in February after airport officials discovered vape canisters and cannabis oil in her luggage. But news of her detainment didn’t break in the United States until March. She pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into the country. In August, a Russian court sentenced her to nine years in prison. Multiple news outlets reported that Griner’s lawyer had asked for a suspended sentence in Tuesday’s appeal but had said they weren’t expecting any “miracles.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the court’s decision means Griner will begin serving her sentence soon, unless the Biden administration negotiates her release. Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, had expressed worry about that possibility earlier this month.
