TOPSHOT - US Women National Basketball Association's (WNBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, leaves the courtroom before the court's final decision in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022. - Russian prosecutors requested that US basketball star Brittney Griner be sentenced to nine and a half years in prison on drug smuggling charges. Her hearing comes with tensions soaring between Moscow and Washington over Russia's military intervention in Ukraine that has sparked international condemnation and a litany of Western sanctions. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Brittney Griner's Appeal over Prison Sentence Set for October 25 by Russian Court

Rob GoldbergOct 3, 2022

Brittney Griner will appeal her nine-year prison sentence during a hearing in Russian court on Oct. 25, according to Vladimir Isachenkov of the Associated Press.

The WNBA star has been detained for 228 days, since her arrest at the Moscow airport on Feb. 17 for drug possession. After pleading guilty to carrying cannabis oil in her luggage, she was sentenced to nine years in prison in August, just short of the 10-year maximum sentence.

Her lawyers later announced plans to appeal the conviction.

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The United States State Department considers Griner to be "wrongfully detained" and is attempting to bring her home.

Cherelle Griner, Brittney's wife, met with president Joe Biden last month to discuss the administration's plan of action.

"The President held the meetings to reiterate his continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul [Whelan] home safely," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

In July, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the administration had made a "substantial proposal" to Russia to facilitate the return of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving 16 years after being convicted of espionage.

According to ESPN's T.J. Quinn, Griner's lawyers would be willing to drop the appeal if it helps facilitate a deal to free her.