US basketball star Griner appears in Russian court

More than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession, a Russian court has set the start date of her trial.

She was ordered to remain in jail for the duration of her trial. If she is found guilty of large-scale transportation of drugs, she could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. In Russian criminal cases, only a small percentage of defendants are acquitted.

The court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki decided to keep her in jail for another six months after she appeared for a preliminary hearing. She appeared in handcuffs. He had been ordered to remain in jail until July.

At an extremely low point in Moscow-Washington relations, Griner's trial comes at a time when relations are at their lowest. She was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, which worsened already-high tensions with the US and Russia.

After the State Department reclassified her as wrongly imprisoned, her supporters took a low profile, hoping for a quiet resolution.

A prisoner swap like the one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug-trafficking conspiracy is what supporters want to see.

Russian news media have speculated that she could be swapped for Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.

Russia has been pushing for Bout's release for a long time. It could be difficult for the U.S. to approve of a swap between Bout and Griner because of the discrepancy between their cases.

She could be traded with Paul Whelan, a former Marine and security director serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that the US has described as a set-up.

On CNN on Sunday, the Secretary of State asked if a swap of two men for one man was being considered.

It's a general proposition. I want to make sure that Americans who are being illegally held around the globe come home. I can't comment on what we're doing except to say it's an absolute priority.

Maria Yarmush, a lawyer specializing in international civil affairs, told a Kremlin-funded TV channel that any swap would have to include a presidential pardon.