Brittney Griner’s Russia detention extended until May 19, report says

WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner will proceed to be held in Russia for at the least two extra months as an investigation into drug allegations continues, in line with a report. 

Russian information company TASS reported Thursday {that a} petition to increase the detention of the 31-year-old All Star till Could 19 was granted by a court docket in Moscow.

“The court docket granted the petition of the investigation and prolonged the time period of detention of US citizen Griner till Could 19,” the report mentioned, citing the court docket’s determination. 

BRITTNEY GRINER ARREST IN MIDST OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ‘KIND OF A PERFECT STORM,’ SPORTS ATTORNEY SAYS

Many observers have feared the opportunity of Russia utilizing Griner as a political pawn.

The Russian Federal Customs Service launched a assertion earlier this month confirming that an American “two-time Olympic basketball champion” had been taken into custody in February after a narcotics canine at Sheremetyevo Worldwide Airport close to Moscow alerted the athlete’s baggage. 

Officers mentioned on the time {that a} search of her baggage revealed vape cartridges containing oil derived from hashish. In accordance with the assertion, Griner might resist a decade in jail if she’s convicted.

Japan’s Saori Miyazaki (32), heart, is blocked by United States’ Brittney Griner (15), second proper, throughout girls’s basketball preliminary spherical recreation on the 2020 Summer time Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Picture/Eric Homosexual)

Ekaterina Kalugina, a member of Russia’s Public Monitoring Fee (POC), informed the outlet {that a} consultant from the U.S. consulate has not visited Griner regardless of “the administration of the pre-trial detention heart is able to create all situations for his go to,” in line with a translation.

She additionally claimed Griner has been sharing a cell with two different inmates with out earlier convictions and had “no complaints in regards to the situations of detention,” aside from her mattress being too small for her 6-foot-9 body. 

A detailed up shot of Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury at observe and media availability through the 2021 WNBA Finals on October 11, 2021 at Footprint Middle in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Michael Gonzales/NBAE through Getty Photos)

Griner, a participant on the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has competed abroad through the league’s offseason. She’s performed for UMMC Ekaterinburg for about seven years alongside different American girls’s basketball stars. 

 The date of her arrest remained unclear.