A Russian court rejected Brittney Griner’s appeal to overturn her 9-year prison sentence on Tuesday.
Griner, 32, attended the hearing via closed circuit TV from a women’s penal colony outside Moscow where she is serving her sentence.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted on August 4 on charges of smuggling cannabis oil into Russia earlier this year.
RELATED: Brittney Griner turns 32 in prison, Worries she will never be released
Griner turned 32 years old on Oct. 18 in prison where she is being held in her cell 23 hours a day.
There was a ray of hope on Tuesday: the appeals court reduced her sentence, giving her just under 8 years to serve.
The reduction in her sentence means the Phoenix Mercury center will be just 39 years old when she is released from prison, unless the Biden administration can negotiate a deal.
Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after she arrived to play for a Moscow women’s basketball team during the WNBA off-season.
A lawyer for the basketball star told The New York Times that “she has not been in as good condition” and that she is only allowed outside once a day.
“She is not yet absolutely convinced that America will be able to take her home,” Alexandr D. Boykov said. “She is very worried about what the price of that will be, and she is afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia.”
Boykov said Griner fears she will be moved to a labor camp where the conditions are harsh and prisoners are fed once a day.
Griner is reportedly suicidal after prisoner swap negotiations stalled between Russia and the United States.
