U.S. WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner, center, arrives at a hearing at Khimki Court on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on July 1st. (Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP / Getty Images)
WNBA player Brittney Griner’s trial prosecutor announced the charges against her during a hearing Friday in a court near Moscow, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
In Khimki city court, Griner was charged by a smuggling prosecutor with less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Prosecutors believe Griner then intended to import the drug into Russian territory and put the banned substances in a backpack and suitcase, according to TASS.
The Phoenix Mercury star plays in Russia during the WNBA low season and was arrested at a Moscow airport a week before Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.
When Griner arrived on a New York flight to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17, “two hashish oil cartridges were found in his hand luggage during an inspection,” according to TASS.
Cannabis oil is subject to control in the territory of the Russian Federation and is classified as narcotics, according to TASS.
The crime of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance is punishable by up to 10 years in prison in Russia.
U.S. Embassy Affairs Officer Elizabeth Rood said she was able to talk to Griner inside the courtroom and that the U.S. government is working “very hard” to bring in Griner and others. ” citizens unjustly detained “at home.
“He is doing as well as can be expected in these difficult circumstances and he asked me to convey to him that he is in a good mood and keeps the faith,” Rood added.
Griner’s lawyers, Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina, said they were unaware of any plans to exchange Griner for a Russian prisoner detained in the United States in a makeshift press at the end of the first day of his trial.
The court will continue to hear the case next week on July 7 at 2.30pm local time.
What Griner’s wife says: Cherelle Griner, the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, told CNN Thursday that she wants U.S. officials to do whatever it takes to bring basketball legend to home, and you need to see them do more.
“It’s very, very difficult. This is not a situation where the rhetoric coincides with the action,” he said. “Unfortunately, I have to push people to make sure the things they tell me also match their actions, and so it’s been the hardest thing to balance because I can’t let go. It’s been over 130 days. and BG is not back yet “.
He also said he would “absolutely” like to meet with US President Joe Biden and humanize Brittney with him so he can “see BG as we see BG.”
“While everyone wants to tell me they care, I would love for them to tell me they care,” he added.
Read more of his interview here.
CNN’s Abby Phillip and Steve Almasy helped report this post.