Brittney Griner: “I might be here forever”

American WNBA star Brittney Griner wrote a letter to President Joe Biden from a Russian jail cell pleading for the United States to take action Tuesday. She was arrested in Russia a week before it invaded Ukraine on charges of possessing cannabis oil, and her trial started Friday. If she’s convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs, 31-year-old Griner could face up to 10 years in prison.

Could she be acquitted? When the judge asked if she wanted to enter her plea, Griner told the judge that she would wait until a later date. An expert in the Russian legal system told ESPN that pleading not guilty would likely just make her sentence worse, since less than 1 percent of defendants in criminal cases in Russia are acquitted. Those acquittals can also be overturned. Griner’s agent said likely her only way home is the U.S. negotiating on her behalf. The U.S. classified her as wrongly detained in April and said Russia is using her as a political pawn. It is negotiating for her release. The U.S. Department of State also released a statement Tuesday that bars Russian and Belarusian national sports governing bodies, teams, and individuals from participating in international sports. It has not said the statement is connected to Griner’s case.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift on the last time Russia released a U.S. prisoner.