WNBA star Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian jail for drug-smuggling

By Anna Chernova, Zahra Ullah, Masha Angelova and Eric Levenson, CNN

Updated 1530 GMT (2330 HKT) August 4, 2022

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(CNN)[Breaking news update, 11:30 a.m. ET]

American WNBA star Brittney Griner has been sentenced by a Russian court to 9 years of jail time, Judge Anna Sotnikova of the Khimki city court said Thursday.[Previous update, 11:11 a.m. ET]American WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted in a Russian court Thursday of smuggling drugs with criminal intent, amid concerns she is being used as a political pawn in Russia's war against Ukraine.Griner faces up to 10 years in jail for the charge, and prosecutors asked for 9.5 years in closing arguments. Read