- Russian prosecutors have lobbied for a 9.5-year sentence for WNBA superstar Brittney Griner.
- Griner was arrested and tried after Russian airport officials allegedly found drugs in her luggage.
- The Olympian faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, but her defense team has lobbied for leniency.
Russian prosecutors asked a judge to give a nine-and-a-half year prison sentence to Brittney Griner, who was on trial for drug-smuggling charges.
The WNBA superstar has been detained in Russia since February, when customs agents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport claimed to find vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
More than four months after she was first taken into custody, and just days into her trial, Griner pleaded guilty to the charges at hand. But sources told Insider that the guilty plea was possibly a strategic move towards leniency, as Russian courts have a greater than 99% conviction rate and were never likely to acquit the American star.
The prosecutors' recommendation came on Thursday, the final day of her trial that has been held just outside of Moscow. The charge of the large-scale transportation of drugs can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in Russian prison.
Last week the US offered to exchange a convicted Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, for Griner and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine also detained in Russia. Russia has not formally responded to the offer.
Andrew Roth, the Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, reported that a verdict could come as soon as Thursday evening local time.
Griner pleaded guilty to the charge in early July in hopes that it would make it easier for a prisoner swap.
Griner's lawyer said earlier this week that she expected the verdict to come and the trial to be over "very soon."