US basketball star Brittney Griner will probably have to spend two more months in prison after being arrested at Moscow airport.
As the state news agency Tass reported on Thursday, the measure against the Olympic champion was extended until May 19 by a court in Khimki near the Russian capital.
Griner was arrested after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were allegedly found in her luggage. According to the Ria Novosti news agency, Griner’s lawyers are said to have tried to get her client released because the treatment was “unlawful” and “excessively harsh”. This was rejected.
The 31-year-old Griner led Phoenix Mercury to its third title in the US professional league WNBA in 2014 and was again in the final with her team in 2021. Since 2015, Griner has also played during the WNBA break at UMMC Yekaterinburg. Except for the Olympic champion of 2016 and 2021, all players from the US league left Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
The US State Department had already issued a travel warning for Russia on January 23, pointing out the “possibility of harassment of US citizens by the Russian security authorities”.