Brittney Griner’s pretrial detention in Russia has been extended by a month

According to Russian state news agency TASS, a Russian court has extended the pretrial imprisonment of US basketball player Brittney Griner.

She is jailed in Russia since February on drug smuggling charges.

A court in Khimki outside Moscow determined that Griner, who the US government claims is being unfairly detained, can now be held in pretrial detention at least until June 18, according to TASS.

She was shackled and wearing an orange hooded pullover with her head down as she left a hearing at Khimki court on Friday.

Griner was permitted to speak with a representative from the US Embassy on the sidelines of her hearing on Friday morning.

Price said, “The officer was able to affirm that Brittney Griner is doing as well as can be expected given what can only be described as extremely tough circumstances.”

Griner’s family and the WNBA have been vocal in their support for her release, with some worried that Russia will use her as a political pawn amid tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Griner, 31, was arrested in February at a Moscow airport as a two-time Olympic gold winner and star for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.

She was accused of smuggling considerable amounts of a narcotic drug by Russian police, who said she had cannabis oil in her suitcase and might face up to ten years in prison.

She had been playing in the WNBA offseason for a Russian team for the past seven seasons.

Griner’s pretrial custody had been extended until mid-May by a Russian court in March.