A court in Russia has rejected the appeal of the American basketball star, Brittney Griner, against the “traumatic” sentence of nine years in prison.
She was jailed on drug possession charges. A court near Moscow held the court hearing on October 25.
The double Olympic medalist apologized for her “unintentional mistake”, adding that she was “very, very stressed”.
Griner, 32, was convicted in August of smuggling and possession of cannabis oil.
Her lawyer, Alexander Boykov, said before the court that “no judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner’s nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law.”
A senior American diplomat, who participated in the session, considered the decision “excessive and disproportionate”.