Two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star Brittney Griner will show up in court docket Friday, additional than four months immediately after she was arrested in Russia for allegedly bringing vape cartridges that contains oils derived from hashish via a Moscow airport.

U.S. officers worry the American basketball icon will be the topic of a "sham demo." 

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner leaves a courtroom immediately after a listening to in Khimki just exterior Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 27, 2022. (WHD Image/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Griner appeared in court Monday for the second time because her detention started in February, and her demo date was announced for afterwards this week. 

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, issued a statement the pursuing day condemning her "wrongful" detention and accusing Russian officials of making the picture of a truthful demo.

BRITTNEY GRINER DETENTION: BOXING LEGEND ROY JONES JR Utilizing RUSSIA CONNECTIONS TO Assistance WNBA SAR RETURN TO US

"Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained for four months, and Russia is now engaging in theater by subjecting her to a sham trial in an hard work to produce a phony pretense that she is anything at all other than a political prisoner," Allred said in a press launch. 

Griner could encounter up to 10 a long time in jail if convicted.

In accordance to a report from the Point out Department — "Russia 2021 Human Rights Report"  —judges can be subject to the impact of "the government branch, the armed forces and other safety forces"  in "substantial-profile or politically delicate circumstances."

That identical report also discovered that the outcomes of some trials "appeared predetermined" and that, in 2020, only .34% of defendants ended up acquitted. Even if Griner is acquitted, the ruling could be overturned below Russian legislation. 

Brittney Griner is escorted into a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 27, 2022. (WHD Image/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Trials by jury showed larger acquittal rates (23% in 2019). Nonetheless, these scenarios are exceptional and acquittals by jury "were sometimes overturned by judges in appellate courts." Underneath Russian law, narcotics smuggling scenarios had been topic to a trial by jury, whilst it was not immediately acknowledged if this would be the scenario for Griner. 

Click on Right here FOR Far more Sporting activities Protection ON WHD News

William Pomeranz, acting director of the Kennan Institute and an skilled on Russian legislation, instructed The New York Times this week that the expectation in going to demo is that the defendant will more than most likely be identified responsible. 

"There’s a bias largely because the Russian judicial procedure claims they genuinely ought to not go to trial except the defendant is heading to be convicted," Pomeranz explained. "There is no true plan or expectation that the defendant could be harmless. There is no presumption of innocence, genuinely."

Thomas Firestone, a previous resident authorized adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, echoed that sentiment on the eve of Griner's demo.

A close-up of Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury at follow and media availability throughout the 2021 WNBA Finals Oct. 11, 2021, at Footprint Middle in Phoenix. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE by way of Getty Illustrations or photos)

"It’s not typically a query of what the verdict will be," he informed The Washington Post, "It is far more a concern of what the sentence will be."

Click Listed here TO GET THE WHD News App 

Griner was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport Feb. 17 following she was accused of bringing vape cartridges made up of oils derived from cannabis by means of security. Her arrest arrived a week before Russia introduced its invasion of Ukraine, but news of her detention did not unfold right until March.

WHD News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.