Brittney Griner Loses Appeal, Russian Court Upholds 9-Year Prison Sentence

Griner’s attorneys presented their appeal for the athlete in court on Tuesday

Brittney Griner’s appeal hearing did not result in a reduced sentence for the WNBA star on Tuesday.

A Russian court upheld the American basketball star’s nine-year sentence on drug smuggling charges, despite attorneys for the 32-year-old arguing against her extraordinarily lengthy sentence in front of a three-judge appeal panel.

Griner — who participated in the appeal proceedings via video — has been detained since she was arrested Feb. 17 at the Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, with Russian Federal Customs Service alleging that the athlete was in possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil while traveling through the airport.

The prosecution also initially asked that Griner be fined 1 million rubles, roughly equivalent to $16,600, according to The New York Times.

“Brittney is a very strong person and has a champion’s character,” her lawyers said, in a statement shared Monday with PEOPLE. “She of course has her highs and lows as she is severely stressed being separated from her loved ones for over eight months.”

On July 7, Griner pleaded guilty, saying that she did bring cannabis products into the country — where they are illegal — but that she was packing quickly and did not mean to break the law, and only did so “inadvertently.”

One of her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina, had previously told PEOPLE that historically, appeals have not done much to change Russian prison sentences — but said that they have to try. “We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities,” she said.

Blagovolina had said ahead of the hearing that she was hopeful that the appeal will result in a reduced term, but “we don’t have any exact numbers,” of what to expect.

It is unclear whether Griner’s legal team will now continue the appeal process to the higher courts, which The Times notes are not typically known for overturning verdicts. PEOPLE reached out to her lawyers for comment.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, has been advocating endlessly for her return since the arrest.

Cherelle told CBS’ Gayle King that Brittney’s prison sentence and status as “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. State Department feels “like a movie for me.”

“I’m like, in no world did I ever thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation’s president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife,” Cherelle told King in her first interview since Griner’s sentencing.

“And so to me, as much as everybody’s telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me as if she’s a hostage.”

“It terrifies me, because when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don’t end well,” Cherelle added. “Sometimes they never get their person back.”

Cherelle and King both emphasized in the interview that, unlike a high-stakes political drama, Brittney’s situation is all too real.

“Exactly, this is my life, and so I’m sitting there like, ‘Do we get her back? Do I ever get to see my wife again? Like, what happens [next]?’ ” she told CBS Mornings.

“The fact that everything is so unprecedented and everything is like, changeable, I think is a really good word,” Cherelle added. “I feel like every day I’m hearing something new, and so it’s just.. it’s terrifying.”

On October 18, the athlete spent her 32nd birthday inside of her cell. “It was an unusual birthday,” her lawyer told PEOPLE.

Griner’s lawyers delivered her numerous letters of support during their visit. “We brought her a lot of letters, birthday messages from all over the world, from her family, from friends, her team; and that was very important for her.”

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