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Russia Resumes Griner Trial


FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner stands behind bars in a courtroom prior to a hearing in the Khimki district court, just outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 15, 2022.
FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner stands behind bars in a courtroom prior to a hearing in the Khimki district court, just outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 15, 2022.

The trial of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner resumed Tuesday in a Russian courtroom.

Griner is facing drug possession charges in connection to her February arrest at a Moscow airport. She acknowledged at an earlier trial session that she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil, but did not have criminal intent.

U.S. officials have said Griner was wrongfully detained.

Griner’s lawyers provided documentation at the trial that a U.S. medical center had permitter her to use cannabis to treat chronic pain.

Russia’s foreign ministry rejected that line of defense, saying last week that U.S. laws do not apply in Russia, and that Russian laws must be respected.

Griner faces a sentence of up to 10 years if convicted.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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