Russia: US basketball player Brittney Griner appears in Khimki court on drug smuggling charges
MOSCOW (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner has gone on trial at a Moscow-area court on charges of possessing cannabis oil. Griner was arrested in February at Moscow’s international airport while traveling to play for a Russian team. 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. Her case comes at an extraordinarily low point in Moscow-Washington relations. Griner was arrested less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, which aggravated already high tensions between the two countries.
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