JTFMax:

Basketball player Brittney Griner (31) has appealed her nine-year sentence in Russia. Her lawyers announced this on Monday on the Telegram messenger service. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.

Griner was arrested on arrival in Moscow in February. So-called vape cartridges and hashish oil were found in her luggage when she entered Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. It is said to have been 0.5 grams. This was ruled as illegal drug possession and attempted smuggling.

Biden Government demands release.

Griner later pleaded guilty but stressed that she did not intend to violate Russian law. However, the court in Moscow did not recognize any mitigating circumstances. As a result, a Russian court convicted the 31-year-old of drug smuggling in early August. The verdict of nine years in prison triggered an international wave of solidarity with the openly lesbian athlete.

The United States sharply criticized the decision of the Russian judiciary and demanded Griner's release. Relations between Moscow and Washington are already strained because of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, Russia confirmed talks about a prisoner exchange for the first time at the weekend.

Despite profound political differences between Moscow and Washington, the American side hopes Griner will be exchanged for a Russian citizen in US captivity. It is apparently about the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. He could be traded for her, the head of the North America department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Dachyev, told the state news agency Tass.

According to media reports, US soldier Paul Whelan could also be exchanged for arms dealer Bout in addition to Griner. He is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.