Her trial has accelerated in recent days, while the two countries negotiate a prisoner exchange in which the player could enter.
“The court found the defendant guilty” of illegal possession and drug trafficking, Judge Anna Sotnikova said, according to an AFP journalist present at the Khimki court near Moscow.
As a result, the basketball player was sentenced to “nine years in prison in a penal colony and a fine of one million rubles,” about 16,000 euros or $16,350 at current exchange rates, he added.
“It is unacceptable and I ask Russia to release him immediately so that he can return to his wife, family and teammates,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement after the verdict was announced.
Griner’s lawyers announced for their part the intention to appeal a sentence that they consider “totally absurd”.
The player listened to the judge’s ruling with her head lowered, locked in the compartment intended for the accused in the courtroom.
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“I made a mistake without bad faith and I hope that the verdict does not end my life here,” Griner had asked in his last speech before the announcement of the court’s decision.
Brittney Griner, 31 years old and 2.06 meters tall, is considered one of the best basketball players in the world.