FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Closing arguments in Brittney Griner's cannabis possession case in Russia are set for Thursday. That's nearly six months after the American basketball star was arrested at a Moscow airport in a case that has reached the highest levels of U.S.-Russia diplomacy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Brittney Griner
MOSCOW (AP) — Closing arguments in Brittney Griner’s cannabis possession case in Russia are set for Thursday. That’s nearly six months after the American basketball star was arrested at a Moscow airport in a case that has reached the highest levels of U.S.-Russia diplomacy. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. A conviction appears almost certain — given that Russian courts rarely acquit defendants — and Griner has acknowledged that there were vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. Still, Russian judges have considerable latitude on sentencing. It’s not clear when the verdict will be announced. If the two-time Olympic gold medalist does not go free, attention will turn to the high-stakes possibility of a prisoner swap.
