US cager faces up to 10 years' jail in Russia

MOSCOW • Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Brittney Griner is scheduled for a trial starting on Friday on charges of illegal cannabis possession in Moscow, a Russian court determined on Monday.

At a brief hearing at which the Phoenix Mercury and UMMC Ekaterinburg centre appeared in public, more than four months after her arrest at Sheremetyevo International Airport, the 31-year-old was informed of a possible sentence of up to 10 years.

The maximum sentence applies to "large-scale transportation of drugs" and during the hearing, her detention was extended at least another six months.

Griner was at the airport to board a flight back to Phoenix at the outset of a WNBA training camp when it was allegedly discovered she was in possession of multiple cannabis oil cartridges.

Like other WNBA players, Griner spends her off-season playing professionally in Russia because of the higher salaries on offer.

Her arrest came just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in late February.

Relations with the United States and Russia have been at an all-time low since the invasion, and the press secretary for US President Joe Biden last month admitted the tension with the Kremlin presented challenges in any attempt to negotiate Griner's release.

"I have got no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are being illegally detained in one way or another around the world come home," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a televised interview over the weekend.

"I can't comment in any detail on what we're doing, except to say this is an absolute priority."

Last week, dozens of human rights organisations urged Mr Biden to strike a deal for her release and in recent years, US officials have accused Russia of detaining and sentencing American citizens on trumped-up charges.

But Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said in an interview with MSNBC earlier this month that Griner was not being held hostage and was being held accountable for violating Russian law.

The WNBA has since announced Griner will be a ceremonial All-Star this year, but it is likely she will not be returning to the US any time soon.

The conviction rates in criminal court cases in Russia are higher than 95 per cent and even if acquitted, the Russian government has the authority to overturn any decision and send Griner to prison.

Her attorney Alexander Boikov said he expects the trial to take up to two months, depending on the court's workload.

He claimed his client had no complaints about her treatment in the pre-trial detention centre.

NYTIMES, REUTERS