CNN —Brittney Griner is appealing her verdict in Russian court Tuesday, nearly three months after the US basketball star was convicted of smuggling drugs into the country and sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner’s appeal will be considered in the Moscow Regional Court in a hearing at which her attorneys are expected to argue the verdict was unfair and unjustified under Russian law, they told CNN. The court hearing the appeal can choose to leave Griner’s verdict in place, overrule it and send it back to the lower court, or reduce Griner’s prison term, they said. “Brittney is very strong person and has a champion’s character,” Blagovolina and Boykov told CNN in a written statement ahead of Griner’s appeal. “However, she of course has her highs and lows as she is severely stressed being separated from her loved ones for over eight months.”“She is very nervous waiting for the appeal hearing,” they added.

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