WNBA Star Brittney Griner has been in a Russian prison for over 240 days now. She was arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking charges. Despite pleas and negotiating offers from the US government, she is still in Russia. New reports now suggest that she is very stressed in anticipation of her upcoming court hearing on October 25, despite being encouraged by birthday wishes.

Griner was sentenced a few months ago and she is currently serving her sentence. However, a Russian court set a date for her appeal hearing. She now has a chance to appeal her verdict and her lawyers are preparing for it.

And this has put reportedly put Brittney Griner in a stressful position. The court proceedings of her appeal is scheduled for later this month.

Brittney Griner thanks her supporters

Griner celebrated her birthday on October 18th while she was still in prison. Her lawyers read out a statement from her which stated , “All the support and love are definitely helping me.”

But she is also very stressed about her appeal hearing. Her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina said, “Today is of course a difficult day for Brittney. Not only is this her birthday in jail away from her family, teammates, and friends, but she is very stressed in anticipation of the appeal hearing on Oct. 25.”

As it turns out, the Phoenix Mercury star has multiple reasons to worry about. Her appeal might land her in a Russian penal colony instead of aiding her release.

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The nine-time All-Star was arrested in February and she later plead guilty during her trial. Griner admitted she made an honest mistake and she pleaded for leniency at the court. But she found none of it, as the judge sentenced her to nine years in prison. And this is her chance to appeal her verdict.

At the same time, the US government has been negotiating with Russia for months. The top US officials have said that they have offered Russia a prisoner swap program where they would send Griner and another American back home for a convicted arms dealer from Russia.

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But that was months ago, and we still haven’t heard any updates from either side. President Joe Biden has said that they are working tirelessly to get Griner back home. And experts suggest that she may be back home by the end of this year. But right now she is preparing for her appeal and she is very stressed as this could be a chance to her freedom.