WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling and cannabis possession charges in a Russian court on Thursday. The verdict comes after a trial that lasted one month.
The American basketball star’s case has been caught up in the deep crisis between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Griner said during her court testimony last week that she knew about a U.S. State Department advisory warning American citizens not to travel to Russia, but wanted to rejoin her team anyway and it cost her big time.
Soon after her guilty verdict, Griner was informed she would spend the next 9 years in a Russian prison.
The only way Griner is coming out of there is the Biden administration doing a prisoner swap.
