WNBA star Brittney Griner gets July 1 court date in Russia

WNBA star Brittney Griner appeared in a Russian courtroom in handcuffs on Monday as officials announced that her trial for drug trafficking would begin on July 1. She will remain in custody for the duration of the trial.

According to Fox News, the "court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki extended her detention for another six months." Griner could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

ESPN notes that "[f]ewer than one percent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted" and that, unlike in the U.S., prosecutors can appeal to a higher court if a criminal defendant is acquitted.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Griner, who played for a Russian basketball team during the WNBA off season, was arrested in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport after members of Russia's Federal Security Service allegedly found vaporizer cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Russian news media have reportedly floated the idea that the U.S. might be persuaded to trade Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout — who is serving a 25-year sentence in Illinois — for Griner.