Brittney Griner is slowly losing hope.
The WNBA star is “afraid” that she will be forced to serve the entirety of her nine-year prison sentence, her lawyer, Alexandr Boykov, told the New York Times in an interview.
“She is not yet absolutely convinced that America will be able to take her home,” her lawyer said, via the New York Times.
“She is very worried about what the price of that will be, and she is afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia.”
“She has not been in as good condition as I could sometimes find her in,” he added of Griner’s emotional struggles.
Griner was found guilty on drug charges by a Russian court in August and is awaiting an appeal date later this month. A Russian court convicted Griner on August 4 of drug smuggling after police said in February they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
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The eight-time All-Star player had admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage but testified that she had inadvertently packed them. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
The U.S. is in negotiations with Russia about a potential prisoner swap to free Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.
