INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian court on Tuesday rejected American basketball star Brittney Griner's appeal of her nine-year sentence on drug charges, the
nine years in prison in August after security officers at a Moscow airport found vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil in
her luggage in February."I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very, very stressful and very
traumatic," Griner told the Moscow regional court in the city of Krasnogorsk, appearing via video link.Judge Yelena Vorontsova announced
that the star athlete's sentence would remain unchanged, RIA Novosti reported.In a statement published on the White House website, United
States President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan slammed the court's ruling as a "sham judicial procedure.""The
president has demonstrated that he is willing to go to extraordinary lengths and make tough decisions to bring Americans home, as his
will hear the arguments of the defense and reduce the term."Her legal team has the ability to appeal the verdict again in a higher court
following Tuesday's decision.When she was arrested, the two-time Olympic basketball gold medallist and Women's NBA champion had been in
Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team, during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury.She pleaded guilty to the charges but
2012 conviction.AFP contributed reporting.
