MOSCOW (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in a Moscow-area court for trial Friday, about 4½ months after she was arrested on cannabis possession charges at an airport while traveling to play for a Russian team.
Griner was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Police said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. 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.