US basketball player Brittney Griner pleads guilty to Russian drugs charge

US basketball player Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court but has denied deliberately breaking the law.

The Olympic gold medallist was detained in February at an airport near Moscow when cannabis oil vape cartridges were allegedly found in her luggage.

“I was in a rush packing and the cartridges accidentally ended up in my bag,” she told the court in Khimki.

Her trial began last week on charges that could mean 10 years in jail.

Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner, had earlier called on President Joe Biden to do “whatever is necessary” to secure her release.

Mr Biden told Cherelle he was working to have her freed as soon as possible.

The 31-year-old basketball star, who is accused of possessing and smuggling drugs, had already sent the president a letter saying she was “terrified [she] might be here forever“.

Russian government officials have warned the US not to “make noise in public about the case”. “The hype and working on the public, with all the love for this genre among modern politicians, currently only disturbs the court process”, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Guilt charge

“I’d like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Brittney Griner told the court in English. In handcuffs and wearing a red T-shirt and trousers, she said she would like to give her testimony later and needed time to prepare. The trial was then adjourned for a week.

Griner is one of the most successful players in the women’s professional league in the US, with WNBA team Phoenix Mercury. She has won WNBA and Euroleague titles as well as two Olympic golds. She had travelled to Russia to play club basketball during the off-season and has featured in EuroLeague team UMMC Ekaterinburg since 2014.

Cannabis oil is illegal in Russia, but her high-profile arrest at Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow came a week before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BBC/Emmanuel Ukoh