The defense team for Brittney Griner, the American basketball star imprisoned for nine years in Russia on drug trafficking charges, is appealing his conviction for drug possession and trafficking, Griner’s lawyer told Reuters on Monday. , Maria Blagovolina.
Griner, who had played for a Russian club, was arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 after cannabis-infused vape cartridges were found in her luggage.
She pleaded guilty to the charges but said she made an “honest mistake” by entering Russia with cannabis oil, which is illegal in the country.
She was sentenced on August 4.
The US government says Griner was wrongfully detained. He offered to trade him for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
