KHIMKI, Russia—American basketball star Brittney Griner illegally brought drugs into Russia, the judge at her trial ruled Thursday at the conclusion of her case that reached the highest levels of U.S.–Russian diplomacy.
The pronouncement by Judge Anna Sotnikova, prior to her announcing a verdict, appeared to herald the imminent conviction of Griner on charges of possession and smuggling of cannabis oil.
A prosecutor urged that she be sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on July 27, 2022. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AP)
Earlier in the session, with a conviction all but certain, an emotional Griner made a final appeal to the court for leniency. She said she had no intention to break the law by bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in the city of Yekaterinburg….