WNBA star Brittney Griner to be detained another month in Russia on cannabis charge

The lawyer for American basketball star Brittney Griner said on Friday that her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month.

Griner’s lawyer, Alexander Boikov, told the Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension of the detention indicated the case would come to trial soon.

Griner, one of the WNBA league’s biggest stars, has been detained in Russia since arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February.

Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained cannabis oil, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

She had arrived in Russia to play professional basketball in the WNBA off-season.

“I want to take a moment to reiterate the WNBA’s support for Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner,” the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, said last month.

She added: “Please know that getting her home safely continues to be our top priority and while we are facing an extraordinarily complex challenge, there is strength in community, especially the WNBA.”

The Biden administration says Griner, 31, is being wrongfully detained. The WNBA and US officials have worked toward her release, without visible progress.

source: theguardian.com