Russian court rejects Brittney Griner’s appeal of 9-year sentence

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected Brittney Griner’s appeal after the jailed WNBA star begged for forgiveness for her “mistake” — upholding her nine-year sentence on drug charges.

Griner and her lawyers had asked for acquittal or at least a more lenient sentence, which they said was disproportionate to the offense and at odds with Russian judicial practice.

The presiding judge said the verdict was upheld “without changes” except for the counting of time served in pre-trial detention as part of the sentence. Griner is now expected to be moved to a penal colony.

The US chargee d’affaires in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, who attended the hearing, called the sentence “excessive and disproportionate.”