Griner pleads guilty to drug charges
Brittney Yevette Griner, an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury[MGN]
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian news agencies say jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug possession and smuggling charges during her trial in Moscow.
The reports quoted Griner as pleading guilty to the charges at Thursday’s court hearing. They said that speaking through an interpreter Griner said she had acted unintentionally because she was packing in haste.
Griner was detained in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters with cannabis oil allegedly were found in her luggage.
She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs. A U.S. Embassy official said she spoke to Griner in the courtroom and shared a letter from President Joe Biden that she read.