WNBA Star Brittney Griner To Begin Trial In Russia Friday

WNBA star Brittney Griner was ordered to stand trial in Russia beginning Friday, according to multiple reports.

A closed-door preliminary hearing was held Monday for Griner at the court in Khimki, a Moscow suburb. The trial will begin around four-and-a-half months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17 and accused of possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Griner, a Houston native and Chester Nimitz Senior High School graduate, was returning from playing basketball in the Russian Premier League during the WNBA offseason.

Video from an NPR reporter posted to social media shows Griner being led into the hearing by Russian authorities.

The Phoenix Mercury center and former All-American at Baylor has remained in prison throughout the pre-trial process, and she was ordered to stay in prison for the duration of the trial.

Griner's arrest and trial come at a low-point in U.S.-Russia relations as she was detained just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. State Department reclassified Griner as wrongfully detained in May, shifting oversight of her case to its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

If convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs, the seven-time WNBA All-Star faces up to 10 years in prison.

Griner's supporters, including her wife, Cherelle, are calling for officials to negotiate her release and accusing Russia of using her as a political pawn.

Russian media outlets have speculated Griner could be swapped for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trader serving 25 years for a conviction on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization.

Griner's case is further complicated by the case of U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was left out of the April prisoner exchange that brought fellow Marine Trevor Reed back to the United States.

When asked during an appearance on CNN whether a swap of Griner and Whelan for Bout was a possibility, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken avoided directly answering the question except to say that ensuring illegally detained Americans are brought home is an "absolute priority."

Since being arrested, Griner has missed most of the WNBA regular season, which runs from early May to mid-August. She was named an honorary member of the 2022 WNBA All-Star team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.