A Moscow court extended the detention of American WNBA star Brittney Griner for another two months, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner until May 19,” Tass stated, according to the Associated Press.
Griner is a center for the Phoenix Mercury and has won two gold medals playing for the U.S. Olympic team, and plays with UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia during the WNBA off-season. Some WNBA players compete in Russia and Ukraine in the off-season because they earn higher salaries there.
Russian authorities detained Griner at an airport in February after allegedly finding cannabis oil in vaping cartridges packed in her pack. According to Russian drug-smuggling law, Griner could face a prison sentence of five to ten years if convicted.
Representative Colin Allred (D., Texas) said Griner was detained on February 17, in comments to CNN last week. Allred claimed that Griner was being held “without official government access to her,” although she has been able to communicate with her Russian lawyer.
News of the detention came amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“For Brittney’s sake, we don’t want her to become a part of this kind of political battle that’s going on, and we want to make sure that her rights are respected and that we are able to get access to her, and that she can get through the process and get home as quickly as possible,” Allred told CNN.
Source: National Review
