Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) – Russian news agencies reported that lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner have filed an appeal of her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession.
The appeal comes as the U.S. and Russia are holding talks that could lead to a high-profile prisoner swap. Griner is an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was convicted Aug.
4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but said she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent.
(Associated Press)