Update(1130ET): WNBA star and American citizen Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison colony after being convicted for "drug smuggling" related charges, after six months ago she was caught entering a Moscow airport with Cannabis vape cartridges, Interfax news is reporting.

The New York Times additionally confirms, "A Russian court on Thursday found the American basketball star Brittney Griner guilty of an attempt to smuggle illegal narcotics into Russia and sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony, according to her lawyers. The verdict ended a closely watched trial that her supporters say made her a pawn in a tense geopolitical showdown over the war in Ukraine."

Her defense team quickly slammed the harsh sentence, which is just one year below the possible 10-year maximum, as "absolutely unreasonable" - saying "we will certainly file an appeal."