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Basketball star Brittney Griner sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia
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IMAGO/Anton Novoderezhkin / IMAGO/ITAR-TASS
Lawyers for basketball player Brittney Griner have appealed her nine-year sentence in Russia for drug smuggling.
Lawyer Maria Blagowolina told Reuters news agency on Monday.
Griner had pleaded guilty, but said she did not intentionally break the law in Russia.
However, the court in Moscow did not recognize any mitigating circumstances.
Spectacular prisoner exchange possible
The ruling could result in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia.
The US has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the US, for Griner.
According to an insider, Russia is also trying to exchange the Tiergarten murderer Vadim Krasikow, who was convicted and imprisoned in Germany.
Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17 after cartridges for e-cigarettes containing hash oil were discovered in her luggage.
Cannabis is banned in Russia.
The athlete had been prescribed hash oil in the USA to relieve pain from chronic injuries.
She has played for the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg since 2014.
col/Reuters
