The star could face 10 years in prison if convicted on cannabis possession charges, with fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases acquitted.
US basketball star Brittney Griner has been ordered to stand trial in Russia on Friday on cannabis possession charges. The double gold Olympian and Phoenix Mercury star, 31, appeared at a brief hearing on Monday more than four months after her arrest at a Moscow airport where she was allegedly carrying multiple cannabis oil cartridges. She could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs. Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and acquittals can be overturned. At Monday’s closed-door preliminary hearing at the court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki, Griner’s detention was extended at least six months.
