Russian court extends Brittany Griner's arrest until 19 May

According to information from the Russian news agency Tass, basketball star Britney Greener will be detained until at least May 19.

Griner, 31, is being held on drug charges that can be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The US Olympic gold medalist plays for the Russian basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg in the winter, while Phoenix Mercury, the women's team of the National Basketball Association (WNBA), competes in the spring and summer. The salary of a women's basketball star can be up to four to five times higher in Russia than in the WNBA. The 2022 WNBA season begins on May 6.

She had been detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow in February after Russian authorities found a vape cartridge in her luggage. They would contain cannabis oil.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said his employees “are doing everything they can to support herself and her family and work with them to ensure that she is treated appropriately and demand her release.”

The State Department has repeatedly urged all US citizens to leave Russia and warned that “serious restrictions” are being placed on the ability of the US embassy in Moscow to help.

Griner is the only WNBA player who has not left Russia or Ukraine since the invasion of Russia in late February.