A Russian court docket has prolonged the detention of the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner to May 19, the Russian information company Tass reported on Thursday, including stress to probably the most harmful second in U.S.-Russia relations for the reason that 1962 Cuban missile disaster.
Ms. Griner, 31, a seven-time W.N.B.A. All-Star heart for the Phoenix Mercury, is being held on drug expenses that might carry a sentence of as much as 10 years in jail.
The Russian Federal Customs Service mentioned earlier this month that its officers had detained the American basketball participant after they discovered vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her baggage on the Sheremetyevo airport close to Moscow in February. They didn’t instantly launch the title of Ms. Griner, who was later recognized by Tass.
Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is one in all a number of W.N.B.A. gamers who compete on worldwide ladies’s groups within the low season to complement paychecks which can be a fraction of their counterparts’ salaries within the N.B.A. She has performed for the Russian staff, UMMC Ekaterinburg, since 2014.
Representative Colin Allred, Democrat of Texas, informed The New York Times final week that Ms. Griner, a Texas native, had been detained on Feb. 17 and that he was working with the State Department to have her launched. Russian authorities have up to now denied the State Department’s request for a gathering between consular officers and Ms. Griner, Mr. Allred mentioned.
American officers, together with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, have mentioned that sure particulars surrounding Ms. Griner’s detention couldn’t be disclosed resulting from privateness constraints.
Since she was detained, household and buddies of Ms. Griner have come ahead to precise their shared want to get her dwelling safely.
Ms. Griner’s spouse, Cherelle T. Griner, mentioned in an Instagram put up final week, “We love you babe!” and “There are no words to express this pain.”
The State Department has suggested all U.S. residents in Russia to depart the nation and has warned that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has “severe limitations” on its means to supply help to Americans there. The W.N.B.A. mentioned on Mar. 5 that each one of its different gamers in Ukraine and Russia had left these nations.