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Brittney Griner lost her appeal and will now begin a 9-year sentence in one of Russia’s infamous penal colonies
- Brittney Griner lost her appeal for a reduced sentence after a drug smuggling conviction in Russia.
- The WNBA star was arrested at a Moscow airport in February, when agents found hashish oil in her luggage.
- Griner will now begin her initial nine-year sentence in one of Russia’s infamous penal colonies.
A Russian court denied Brittney Griner’s appeal for a reduced prison sentence Tuesday.
Though the WNBA superstar and two-time Olympic gold medalist did “not expect any miracles” — as her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a statement provided to Insider — she maintained some hope that the judges on the case would “hear the arguments of the defense and reduce the number of years” she’d have to spend in one of Russia’s infamous penal colonies.
Instead, Griner’s worst nightmare was reinforced; the courts upheld the initial nine-year sentence that everyone, from fellow sports superstars to US President Joe Biden, deemed “unacceptable.”
