MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA - JUNE 27, 2022: US Olympic champion basketball player Brittney Griner (R) charged with drug smuggling arrives for a preliminary hearing at the Khimki City Court. Video screen grab. Best quality available. Maxim Grigoryev/TASS/Sipa USA
Russia: US basketball player Brittney Griner appears in Khimki court on drug smuggling charges
KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner is back in court for her trial for cannabis possession amid U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure her release. The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist returned to court on Tuesday, a month after her trial began. She could face 10 years in prison if convicted. As her trial has progressed, the Biden administration has faced growing public pressure to get her released. In an extraordinary move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal under which Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, would go free.
