U.S. diplomat says Griner sentence 'a miscarriage of justice'

FILE PHOTO: Elizabeth Rood, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow walks after the court's verdict on U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

KHIMKI, Russia (Reuters) - Chargé d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, said on Thursday that the 9 year prison sentence given to U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner had been "a miscarriage of justice".

Rood was speaking outside the courtroom where Griner was found guilty of drugs possession and smuggling for entering Russia with cannabis-infused vape cartridges.