A Moscow regional court has officially set an appeal date of October 25 for American basketball star Brittney Griner
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for smuggling drugs into the country, arrested with less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s International Airport back in February.
Details about the appeal hearing have not been released,
It is expected Griner’s team will argue she did not know the cannabis oil was illegal in Russia and that she was only carrying a small amount for personal use.
There have also been rumours that the U.S. is negotiating a prisoner swap with Russia, but it is not clear if Griner is part of those negotiations.
The U.S. has not confirmed or denied the rumours.
