Mike Hosking Breakfast

US basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted this morning in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two world powers. The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time US Olympic champion and a eight-time all star with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, listened with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the verdict by Judge Anna Sotnikova. The judge also fined 1 million rubles (NZ $25,000) fine. US President Joe Biden denounced the verdict and sentence as "unacceptable." "I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates," Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction. Earlier in the session, with a conviction all but certain, an emotional Gr