Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so «inadvertently» while asking the court for mercy.
The move is not expected to end her trial in Khimki, Russia, anytime soon. Even with a guilty plea in Russian criminal courts, the judge will continue to read the full case file into the record and it could still go on for weeks or months.
Griner, who was detained in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, told the court that she packed the vape cartridges accidentally and did not intend to break Russian law. «I'd like to plead guilty, your honor.
But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law,» Griner told the judge, according to Reuters. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs.