Russian court hears appeal by US basketball player over nine-year sentence

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

A Russian court has begun hearing American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.

Griner, an eight-time all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, was convicted on August 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.