A Russian court is hearing Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession and smuggling.
Today, three judges preside over the appeals court in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, while Griner participates via video link from a detention centre in the town of Novoye Grishino, also near Moscow.
Her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov have previously said they expect a decision on Griner’s appeal to be issued later today.
Griner was arrested on 17 February at a Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned in Russia.
She was jailed for nine years on 4 August after she pleaded guilty to her conviction for drug possession and trafficking but said she had made an “honest mistake” and had not meant to break the law.
Yesterday, US state department spokesperson Ned Price said that Washington was working to free Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, serving 16 years in jail after being convicted of spying, and that there had been “active discussions, including in recent days”.