U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner is due to go on trial in Russia on drug charges that could see her face up to 10 years in jail, in a case that highlights the already fraught relations between Moscow and Washington.
Griner, a star player in the U.S.-based Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February the 17th, just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a broader confrontation with the West.
Russian authorities said the 31-year-old was carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil, a substance illegal in the country, and was charged with smuggling a large quantity of drugs, an offence that can carry up to 10 years in jail.