The examination of the substance inside Brittney Griner’s vape cartridges seized at a Moscow airport in February was not compliant with Russian law, a defense expert testified Tuesday. Forensic chemist Dmitry Gladyshev said the examination, which was used to charge the WNBA star with drug smuggling, “does not comply with the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure.” Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, added that the results of the analysis didn’t include the amount of THC in the substance inside the cartridges. Blagovolina also told CNN that experts had discovered “a few defects” in the machines used to analyze the substance. Griner has already pleaded guilty to drug charges and now faces up to 10 years imprisonment, though U.S. authorities maintain that the basketball player has been wrongfully detained. Rather than reporting on the testimony made at Tuesday’s hearing, several Russian media outlets bizarrely fixated on her apparently eating a sandwich in the courtroom. “American center Brittney Griner ate a sandwich while the defense was questioning a specialist who was examining hash oil cartridges,” Sports.ru reported, calling it “rare for the accused to be caught eating during trial.”
