Team USA basketball player Brittney Griner appeared in a Moscow court on Friday, where her pre-trial detention was extended by another 30 days.
Griner’s lawyer Alexander Boikov told The Associated Press he thinks the short extension means her case will go to trial soon.
The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has been in Russia since she was detained at the Moscow airport on February 17. Authorities said she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The maximum penalty for that is 10 years in prison.
The United States government recently changed Griner’s status to “wrongfully detained” by the Russian government. This means the U.S. government will no longer wait for Griner’s case to play out through the Russian legal system and will seek to negotiate her return, though it doesn’t appear any progress has been made on that front.
The WNBA, which began their season last week, has a special decal on all 12 home courts to honor Griner. Phoenix Suns’ star Chris Paul said during the Suns’ playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, “this ain’t even just an NBA or WNBA thing. I think everybody just wants her home. Griner is a huge part of the community here. We all support her and just want to try to get her home as soon as possible.”
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