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Trial for US basketball star Brittney Griner begins in Moscow-area court

Brittney Griner
Posted at 7:40 AM, Jul 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-01 07:53:38-04

American basketball star Brittney Griner has arrived at a Moscow-area court where she is scheduled to go on trial.

Griner was arrested in February on cannabis possession charges at an airport while traveling to play for a Russian team. Police said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil.

Her trial is set to get underway on Friday.

The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted 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 U.S. State Department considers Griner “wrongly detained.”