US basketball star Brittney Griner pleads guilty to drug charges in Russia
- She denied intending to break the law, however, in a case that has inflamed Washington-Moscow tensions amid the Ukraine war
- The two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion faces up to a decade behind bars for bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil into the country
US basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to drug smuggling charges in a Russian court but denied intending to break the law in a case that has further inflamed tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion, detained days before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, faces up to a decade behind bars for bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil into the country.
The star told a court in the town of Khimki outside Moscow that she “would like to plead guilty” to all the charges and stressed she had “no intention” of breaking any Russian law.
“I was in a rush packing. And the cartridges accidentally ended up in my bag.”
The athlete wore a red T-shirt and matching trousers. She walked into the courtroom with her arms handcuffed to a Russian guard.
Her lawyer Alexander Boykov called for “as soft a sentence as possible”. He said Griner had “appreciated” receiving a letter from US President Joe Biden, who said on Wednesday that he would make bringing her home a “priority”.