Brittney Griner Turns 32 Years Old in Russian Prison

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty

On Brittney Griner's 243rd day imprisoned in Russia, she'll be hitting her 32nd birthday.

The WNBA star — who was arrested at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17 — turns 32 years old on Tuesday.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 4 on charges of smuggling drugs into the country, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years. After the trial, her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina had said the sentence was "absolutely unreasonable."

The athlete's lawyers filed an appeal, and hearings for that will begin Oct. 25.

Blagovolina had previously told PEOPLE that they don't know if the appeal will be successful — and historically, appeals have not done much to change Russian prison sentences — but said that they have to try.

EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty Brittney Griner holds up a photo of her teammates while in court

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"We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities," she said.

For now, Griner is likely living in a detention center that is part of the prison penal colony as she awaits her hearing, and for any news on a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the U.S.

Griner's wife, Cherelle, spoke publicly for the first time since the sentencing on Oct. 5 with CBS Morning's Gayle King and voiced her concern about her wife's ordeal, saying Brittney is a "hostage."

"On its face it just seems like my wife is a hostage. To know that our government and the foreign government is sitting down and negotiating for her release? She's a hostage," Cherelle said.

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Cherelle T. Griner/Instagram

A meeting last month at the White House solidified to her that President Biden is making efforts to secure her wife's release. Cherelle told King, "He's doing what he can. But there's another party in this situation, and we also are dealing with the need for Russia to have mercy on B.G. as well."

RELATED: Brittney Griner's Wife Cherelle Says the WNBA Star Is 'At Her Absolute Weakest' Right Now in Russia

"I have heard so many stories about this exact situation happening with Americans going through Russia and at the airport they were told, 'Pay a fine and go on with your day.' But because B.G. is Brittney Griner, I do think this got really complicated really quickly," Cherelle told King.

Cherelle emphasized that she is well aware that crime deserves punishment, especially since she works in the legal field, but "it must be balanced."