Brittney Griner's defense alleges the WNBA star treated her injuries with medical cannabis

By Jim Heintz

KHIMKI, Russia — American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to a Russian court Tuesday for her lengthy trial on drug charges that could carry 10 years in prison if convicted.

The trial of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and star of the Phoenix Mercury began on July 1, but only four sessions have been held, some of which have lasted only hours.

In one of them, she acknowledged that she was carrying vape cans with cannabis oil when she was detained at a Moscow airport in mid-February, but said she had no intention of committing a crime.

["I'm terrified".

Brittney Griner asks Biden for help from jail in Russia]

The slow trial and her five-month detention have drawn sharp criticism from her teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared that she is “wrongly detained”, a designation strongly rejected by the Russian authorities.

Basketball player Brittney Griner pleads guilty to drug possession in Russia

July 7, 202200:28

Griner was detained amid heightened tensions between the United States and Moscow before Russia sent troops to Ukraine later that month.

Some supporters maintain that she is being held in Russia as a pawn, possibly for a prisoner swap.

Notable American soccer player Megan Rapinoe said last week that she "is being held as a political prisoner, obviously."

Yet even after the conflict broke out, Washington and Moscow negotiated a prisoner swap in April, when American Trevor Reed, jailed on a conviction for assaulting a police officer, was released in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian. convicted in the United States for drug smuggling.

The Russian Foreign Ministry last week lashed out at the US claim that Griner is being unjustly detained, saying Russian laws must be respected.

[Putin spokesman says Brittney Griner is not a hostage and gives no clues about her release]

"If an American citizen was arrested in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny it, then this should be in line with our local Russian laws, and not those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington." spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in a cage in a courtroom before a hearing, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.Alexander Zemlianichenko/ AP

“If drugs are legalized in the United States, in a series of states, and this is done for a long time and now the whole country is going to get high, this does not mean that all the other countries follow the same path,” he added.

Russian media have speculated that Griner could be swapped for prominent Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is jailed in the United States, and that Paul Whelan, an American jailed in Russia for espionage, could also figure in a trade.

[Basketball Player Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Drug Possession in Russia and Faces 10 Years]

US officials have not commented on the prospects for such an exchange.

Russian officials have said there can be no talk of a trade until the court case against Griner is concluded.

It's unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner's detention until December 20.

Previous sessions of the trial have included testimony from the manager and captain of the Russian team Griner played for in the offseason, along with written testimony including a letter from a doctor stating that he had authorized her to use cannabis for treatment. from pain.