Brittney Griner’s Appeal Rejected, Russian Court Upholds 9-Year Sentence

Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner’s Appeal Rejected, Russian Court Upholds 9-Year Sentence

Brittney Griner’s fight to be released from a Russian prison continues. 

Brittney Griner

According to reports, a Russian court has denied Brittney Griner’s appeal during a hearing this morning (Oct. 25) — solidifying the WNBA star’s nine-year prison sentence. As previously reported, Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February after Russian authorities allegedly discovered vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. She pled guilty to the charges but insisted that she had no intention of breaking the law. However, a Russian court ultimately found Brittney guilty of the drug charges back in August and sentenced her to nine years in prison.

Brittney Griner

The 32-year-old didn’t appear in person for the hearing. Instead, she was present during a video conference from inside a cell. Her image appeared subdued throughout the process as footage showed her standing and sitting behind bars. Reports state that the  Phoenix Mercury player had hopes of overturning the previous ruling in the case or getting her sentence reduced. It’s important to note that despite the U.S. State Department stating back in May that they had determined Griner was being “wrongfully detained,” experts didn’t think the Olympic gold medalist would win her appeal. 

On Monday (Oct. 24) Griner’s attorneys said in a statement that they anticipated that the Russian court would deny her motion while admitting that they didn’t “expect any miracles to happen.”

Brittney Griner

What are your thoughts on Brittney Griner’s nine-year prison sentence getting upheld amid Russia denying her appeal? Share it with us in the comments below.

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