Russian court upholds Brittney Griner's drug smuggling sentence

A Russian judge on Tuesday upheld basketball star Brittney Griner's sentence for drug possession but slightly altered her sentence to include time spent in pre-trial detention.

The Moscow court ruled to uphold the nine-year sentence of Griner, an Olympic gold medalist and WNBA player, who was found guilty in August of possessing cannabis, The Associated Press reported.

However, the court determined that one day in pre-trial detention would count as 1.5 days in prison, so Griner will serve about eight years behind bars. 

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan acknowledged the ruling amid rising tensions with Moscow and said it was "another sham judicial proceeding." He said the Biden-Harris administration is still negotiating with Russia to try and bring Griner back to the United States.