Brittney Griner’s drug trial resumed on Tuesday, July 26. The slow-moving trial began on July 1 and is expected to drag on for five months, according to reports.
For her courtroom attire, Griner chose the same Cross Colours Black Lives Matter hoodie she wore when she was arrested at a Moscow airport in mid-February.
The black hoodie features the words “Cross Colours” on the sleeves and “Black Lives For Peace” on the back.
In an earlier trial, Griner acknowledged carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage when she arrived in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 17.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury center said she rushed to pack and did not realize the vape pens were in her luggage.
Her attorney presented a letter from a doctor who suggested she use cannabis oil for pre-existing conditions such as ADHD.
The US State Department has officially declared Griner a political prisoner who is “wrongfully detained”.
But the Russian government rejected the designation, according to the NY Post.
“If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
She added: “If drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path.”
