US Basketball Payer Griner Not Complaining About Pre-Trial Detention Conditions, Her Attorney Says

KHIMKI, Russia (Sputnik) - US basketball player Brittney Griner, detained in Russia over drug trafficking, has no complaints about the place and conditions of her pre-trial detention, Maria Blagovolina, her attorney, said Friday.

The Khimki city court of the Moscow Region held the first hearing in the case of drug trafficking against Griner on Friday. During the hearing, a prosecutor read the indictment and two witnesses were questioned. Representatives of the US embassy in Moscow were present at the hearing.

"Everything is proceeding according to the plan and in accordance with the law. We cannot comment on what the witnesses said during the trial. I see Brittney on a regular basis, there are no complaints about the place and conditions of detention. However, she is worried, of course," Blagovolina told journalists.

Griner did not comment on the charges, the attorney said, adding that she works out with her own weight and takes walks since there is no gym in the pre-trial detention center.

A Sputnik corresponded reported on Friday that the charges were clear to Griner but she refused to comment. The court did not ask if the player was intending to plead guilty.

The trial was postponed until July 7 as some witnesses were not present at the hearing, the correspondent added.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in basketball, was detained at a Moscow airport in February after a police dog alerted officers to a vape cartridge containing cannabis extracts in her luggage. She was accused of drug trafficking and illegal possession of drugs without the intent to sell them under Russian law.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in mid-June that Griner violated Russian law and will be prosecuted accordingly.