Brittney Griner Sentenced To 9 Years In Russian Prison

Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison

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WNBA star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison, on charges of smuggling drugs into the country.

Griner’s lawyers said the verdict, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years, “absolutely unreasonable” and said they will “certainly file an appeal,” The New York Times reported.

A Russian judge read Griner, 31, her verdict Thursday about an hour after her lawyers and the prosecution presented their closing arguments. The Phoenix Mercury star had given an emotional speech, reiterating her stance that though she pled guilty to bringing less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia, she did so “inadvertently” and asked the court for leniency.

“That’s why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that’s been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intents to break any Russian laws,” Griner said, according to CNN. Read more.

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