Breaking News: Russian Court Delivers The Highly Anticipated Ruling On WNBA Star Brittney Griner’s Appeal – She Will Now Face Nine Years In Prison

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Unsurprisingly, part-time basketball player and full time professional victim, Brittney Griner is in the news once again. Griner, who of course, was famously arrested in Russia for bring illegal drugs into the country, has just received some very bad news.

In fact, it was a Russian court on Tuesday denied WNBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal and upheld her nine-year prison sentence on drug charges. As one might imagine, Griner looked fairly miserable in court and it does seem to be dawning on her what the near and perhaps far-reaching future holds for Griner.

In fact, it has just been reported by NBC News that:

Griner, 32, looked despondent as she appeared at the hearing in the Moscow Regional Court via video conference from the detention center where she has been held since her arrest in February. The athlete is now expected to be moved to a penal colony.

Griner’s conviction in August was decried by the United States, which has said the athlete is being wrongfully detained.

The denial of her appeal will see hopes for Griner’s release shift to the potential for a high-profile prisoner swap.

NBC News went on to report that:

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday’s decision was the product of “another sham judicial proceeding.”

“President (Joe) Biden has been very clear that Brittney should be released immediately,” he said, adding that the Biden administration has in recent weeks “continued to engage with Russia through every available channel and make every effort to bring home Brittney as well as to support and advocate for other Americans detained in Russia, including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan.”

Griner’s attorneys said the decision was “not what we expected” and added that it could take months before the WNBA star is transferred to a penal colony.

Yahoo News went on to report that:

“We are very disappointed,” they said. “We still think the punishment is excessive.”

They said Griner’s “biggest fear” is that a prisoner swap will not take place and she could have to serve out the entirety of her sentence in Russia.

“She had hopes for today as each month, each day away from her family and friends matters to her,” they said.

Yahoo News further reported that:

The attorneys said they planned to use “all the available legal tools, especially given the harsh and unprecedented nature of her verdict” and would discuss the next steps with Griner.

Griner had been “quite pessimistic about the outcome” of the appeal ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, one of her attorneys, Maria Blagovolina, said Monday.

The WNBA star had held hope there would be a reduction to her sentence, but did not believe the verdict would be overruled, Blagovolina said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

The Raging Patriot has been reporting quite a bit on Brittney Griner. In fact, we reported around two weeks ago that After all of the press, attention, and lip service support emanating from fellow oppressed individuals such as LeBron James, a hammer blow has just been delivered to Griner, courtesy of President Joe Biden and Karine Jean-Pierre, the official White House Spokeswoman.

After all of the press, attention, and lip service support emanating from fellow oppressed individuals such as LeBron James, a hammer blow has just been delivered to Griner, courtesy of President Joe Biden and Karine Jean-Pierre, the official White House Spokeswoman.