American basketball star Brittney Griner has arrived at a Moscow-area court where she is scheduled to go on trial.
Griner was arrested in February on cannabis possession charges at an airport while traveling to play for a Russian team. Police said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil.
Her trial is set to get underway on Friday.
The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs. Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the U.S., acquittals can be overturned.
The U.S. State Department considers Griner “wrongly detained.”
