The lawyer for Brittney Griner said May 13 that the WNBA star's pretrial detention in Russia has been extended by one month, ESPN reported.
Alexander Boykov told The Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension of the detention indicated the case would come to trial soon. Griner has been in detention for nearly three months.
However, the Russian state news agency TASS published a story saying there were negotiations between the U.S. and Russia to exchange Griner for a Russian man being held in the United States for financing terrorism. U.S. government officials, speaking to ESPN, were skeptical about the reporting, saying it was likely a tactic to pressure the U.S. government.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at a Moscow airport after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage. The charge could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.