Politically charged trial begins for US basketball star Brittney Griner in Russia

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The trial has begun in Russia for WNBA star Brittney Griner, who's facing drug smuggling charges.

Griner's wife, along with critics, says the athlete is a political pawn. Her detention and trial come at an extraordinarily low point in Moscow-Washington relations.

She was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport less than a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, which aggravated already-high tensions with sweeping sanctions by the United States and Russia's denunciation of U.S. weapon supplies to Ukraine.

Crystal Goomansingh looks at the fight for Griner's freedom, and the legal odds against her.