• Brittney Griner, the US basketball star, was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges by a Russian court.
• The 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist was held at an airport near Moscow after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage.
Advertisement
• It is unknown how long she will be imprisoned for, as the US and Russia are negotiating a possible prisoner swap.

Brittney Griner, the US basketball star, was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges by a Russian court.

In addition, she was fined one million roubles (£13,430; $16,300).

Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges but has denied breaching the law on purpose.

In February, the 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist was held at an airport near Moscow after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage.

In Russia, cannabis is prohibited.

Griner’s defence team said they would appeal the court’s decision in Khimki, outside Moscow, on Thursday.

According to the BBC’s Russia reporter Steve Rosenberg, it is unknown how long she will be imprisoned for, as the US and Russia have been negotiating a possible prisoner swap that could include the basketball player.

According to reports in the US media, Washington may send imprisoned Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, often known as the Merchant of Death, to Russian authorities as part of the arrangement.

Griner had already been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison by Russian prosecutors.

In reading the verdict, the presiding judge in Khimki stated that she considered the fact that the American had already spent a significant amount of time in detention.

Also Read

Russian lawyers seeks nine-and-a-half year sentence for Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after cannabis...