Brittney Griner Appeal of 9-Year Prison Sentence Denied by Russian Court

A Russian court has rejected WNBA star Brittney Griner's appeal and upheld her nine-year prison sentence.

The Phoenix Mercury player was arrested at a Moscow airport in February and charged with possession of vape canisters containing cannabis oil.

She was sentenced to nine years in prison and was fined one million rubles (approximately $16,000).

Griner appeared from a remand cell via video link at the Moscow Regional Court on Tuesday to hear the outcome of her appeal.

The 32-year-old looked downcast during the hearing as a statement from her was read to the court.

Griner pleaded with the court to grant her appeal based on the grounds she "did plead guilty" and "did not intend to [commit the crime]," which she described as an "honest mistake" but acknowledged she understood the serious charges she faced.

She also said her time in prison had already been "very, very stressful" and "traumatic," but is likely to get worse as she's expected to be transported to a penal colony.

"I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very very stressful and very traumatic," she told the court, according to the BBC.

"People with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given," she added.

Griner's lawyer Alexander Boykov told the court at the hearing: "No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner's nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law."

The U.S. State Department said it had not been given consular access to Griner since early August, and described the verdict as a "sham."

U.S. national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement the athlete had been "wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances."

The two-time U.S. Olympic basketball gold medalist, pleaded guilty to the drug charges in July after her legal team argued she used the cannabis oil to treat pain from sports-related injuries.

Griner was traveling to Russia to compete in the professional league there during the WNBA off-season.

Calls for her release ramped up this month as she turned 32 on October 18, with celebrities, athletes and the WNBA joining in the campaign to free Griner.

Her wife, Cherelle Griner, led the campaign #WeAreBG to try to convince Russian authorities to let her go.

"I want to thank President [Joe] Biden for the administration's efforts to secure her release," she said in an Instagram video.

Biden met Cherelle at the White House in September and vowed to bring her wife home.

Russia's Foreign Ministry had said it spoke with U.S. officials in August about a prisoner swap that would include Griner and detained former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

But then earlier this month Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide, Yury Ushakov, said her release was not a priority for the country.

Update 10/25/2022 10:25 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.