This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A Moscow court has extended the detention of U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner until May 19, TASS reported on March 17.
“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the U.S. citizen Griner until May 19,” the Khimkinsky court of the Moscow region said, according to TASS.
The 31-year-old, one of the top players in women’s professional basketball, is a seven-time all-star in the U.S. Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. team and a WNBA championship with her current team, the Phoenix Mercury.
Griner was detained at a Moscow airport last month after Russian authorities said a scan of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing hashish oil.
Griner has been playing in Russia for the last seven years in the WNBA’s off-season. She last played for her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg on January 29 before the league took a two-week break in early February for World Cup qualifying tournaments.
Without identifying Griner, the Russian Customs Service said earlier this month that a player was detained in February after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from New York.
A criminal case has been opened against Griner, who faces a possible sentence of five to 10 years in prison if found guilty, the customs service said.
The Phoenix Mercury team said it is “aware of and…closely monitoring the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia.”
Last week on Instagram, Griner’s wife, Cherelle, thanked all those who have expressed support for the WNBA star and asked for “privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely.”
