US basketball star Brittney Griner apologises ahead of verdict in Russian court

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner stands behind bars in a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Since Brittney Griner last appeared in her trial for cannabis possession, the question of her fate expanded from a tiny and cramped courtroom on Moscow’s outskirts to the highest level of Russia-US diplomacy. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

American basketball star Brittney Griner has apologised to her family and her team as a Russian court heard closing arguments in her drug possession trial ahead of the verdict.

In her final remarks, Griner said she had no intent to break Russian law by bringing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil with her when she flew to Moscow in February.