Jailed basketball player
Trial of WNBA star Griner in Moscow begins July 1
Basketball player Brittney Griner is in custody in Moscow. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/dpa
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More than four months after her arrest on charges of drug possession at Moscow airport, the start of the trial against US basketball player Brittney Griner has finally been confirmed.
More than four months after her arrest on charges of drug possession at Moscow airport, the start of the trial against US basketball player Brittney Griner has finally been confirmed.
The trial against the 31-year-old is scheduled to begin on July 1, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported on Monday, citing the Moscow court. The court also ordered Griner to remain in custody for the duration of the trial.
On Monday, Griner appeared for the first time for a preliminary hearing before the court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. The hearing took place behind closed doors. The American faces up to ten years in prison. The case comes at a time when US-Russia relations are at an all-time low over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Griner was arrested on February 17 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on charges of drug possession. The two-time Olympic champion and star player of the WNBA team Phoenix Mercury had recently also been active in Russia.