Russian Court Rejects Appeal of Jailed US Basketball Star Griner

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by WNBA star Brittney Griner against her nine-year sentence for drug smuggling, Interfax reported.

The ruling means Griner, 32, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, will leave pre-trial detention near Moscow and be sent to serve her prison term in a penal colony elsewhere in Russia.

President Joe Biden has made a priority of securing the release of Griner and another jailed American in Russia, former US Marine Paul Whelan. Amid a vocal campaign from the basketball star’s supporters, the US leader has denounced Griner’s prison sentence as “unacceptable.”

Brittney Griner displayed on a screen via a video link from a remand prison during a court hearing to consider an appeal against her sentence at a Moscow regional court, on Oct. 25.

Photographer: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

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