(CNN) — WNBA star Brittney Griner will attend a preliminary court hearing in the Moscow region Monday, her lawyer Alexander Boykov told CNN.
Griner has been held in Russia since February 17 on accusations of alleged attempted drug smuggling and has been officially classified as “wrongfully detained,” a US State Department official told CNN in May.
According to Boykov, the court hearing will be held behind closed doors at the Khimki city court just outside Moscow at 7 a.m. ET and 2 p.m. local time on Monday. Griner is expected to go to court in person.
Griner’s detention, which has been repeatedly extended, has sparked a wave of support among dozens of organizations in the US that have joined Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner’s wife, in calling on President Joe Biden to strike an exchange deal with Russian authorities to release Griner and bring her home safely as soon as possible.
More than 40 organizations — including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, National Urban League and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) — signed a letter addressed to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Last week, CNN reported that — according to a senior State Department official — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Cherelle Griner one-on-one on Wednesday.
Griner, 31, will remain in Russian custody through at least July 2, after a Russian court extended her detention, Russian state news agency Tass reported on June 15.
Cherelle said last week she hasn’t talked to her wife since February 17.
Griner was named an honorary WNBA All-Star game starter last week, with the All-Star game scheduled to take place on July 10 in Chicago.
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