DALLAS — On her 134th day in captivity in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner saw a judge on the first day of her drug possession trial and then was taken back to jail where she's been warned the Russian legal system is planning to keep her through at least December.
"She's a bit worried because she has a trial," her Russian attorney Alexander Boykov said after Griner's brief court appearance. She is scheduled to be back in the same courtroom again on July 7. "But she's a tough kid, and I think that she will manage."
Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Russia on Feb. 17 after she was accused of carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in Russia. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison.
ABC News reports that the first witness at Griner's trial was a customs officer who was at the airport when she was arrested. According to a Russian reporter inside the courtroom, who spoke with ABC News, Griner said through a translator that she understood the accusation but declined to comment on the charge, saying she will share her thoughts at a later time.
In the few seconds that reporters and photographers are allowed to see Griner during her transfer to and from the courtroom, a Russian reporter working for ABC News asked Griner "do you have anything to say to Cherelle?" Griner, escorted by multiple officers, did not respond. Griner's wife Cherelle, earlier this week, suggested a prisoner swap is her only hope.
"Because at this point, we're 130 days of my wife she's in a country where she don't even know the language," she said in a podcast with the Rev. Al Sharpton. "So it's inhumane on all type of level where she ain't even speaking."
Russian news media have repeatedly mentioned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called 'merchant of death' as a possible swap. But it's not exactly an equal comparison. He's serving 25 years on terrorism charges and conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.
"Brittney Griner is being used as a political pawn, there's no doubt. I use the word hostage," said Evelyn Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute. "A prisoner swap is a potential outcome. The problem is whether, for the United States government, we have a prisoner that we're willing to swap. And what the precedent might be."
U.S. Embassy officials say they are doing all they can.
"The Russian Federation has wrongfully detained Ms. Griner," Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow Elizabeth Rood said after the Friday court hearing. "I did have the opportunity to speak with Ms. Griner in the courtroom. She is doing as well as can be expected in these difficult circumstances. And she asked me to convey that she is in good spirits and is keeping up the faith."
Griner has been ordered held through at least Dec. 20: the expected length of her trial.