Brittney Griner's 'sham' trial in Russia is underway. Here's what to know about her plight.

After being detained for more than four months, Brittney Griner will finally stand trial for drug charges on Friday in Russia.

Her return to America likely won't happen soon. On Monday, a judge ordered that her detention had been extended another six months.

The proceeding will lack legitimacy and will more closely resemble a "sham," Russian legal expert Jamison Firestone told USA TODAY Sports via email.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. and seven-time WNBA All-Star, has remained in Russian prison since Feb. 17, when authorities apprehended her at an airport near Moscow for allegedly carrying hashish oil in vape cartridges. A guilty verdict – fewer than 1% of Russian defendants are acquitted, according to the Associated Press – could carry a sentence of 10 years.

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Meanwhile, the WNBA, the LGBTQ community and members of the U.S. government have consistently voiced concerns for her safety and called for her immediate release.

"Her family and supporters are doing the right thing, keeping her in the headlines and keeping the pressure on the US government to get her out," Firestone wrote. "Sooner or later the powers that be will find it useful to release her. Until then, it helps that the world is watching and it will make her safer."

Brittney Griner's trial in Russia: What to expect

Vladimir Putin knows the case involving Griner has created an international swell of interest. Griner could have excellent Russian representation, but it won't matter. The facts and specifics won't matter, Firestone said.

"It's very frustrating, uncomfortable and mind numbing," wrote Firestone, a main proponent of the Magnitsky Act, the 2012 law that allows the U.S. government to sanction human rights violators. "Then, at the end, the prosecutors will either ask for a sentence or further delay. Then the judge will read the decision which was probably written even before the trial began."

Translating Griner's English is another area the court could malign her, Firestone said. Also, the trial could drone on for days. What's likely, he said, is prosecutors asking for a delayed sentencing. With Griner already sentenced to at least six more months, Putin can combine suspense and the spotlight.

Any decision "was probably written before the trial began," Firestone wrote.

"If it’s a sentence," he said, "it won’t really matter how long it’s for as her case will eventually be settled by politics, not law."

Pressure to free Griner grows

Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for Griner's immediate release.

The U.S. State Department classified Griner as "wrongfully detained" on May 3. Since March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has maintained that bringing home detained Americans abroad – including Paul Whelan, who faces a 16-year sentence on accusations of spying – is his department's "highest priority."

Victoria Kirby York, deputy executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said the six-month extension is to buy more time to use her as a political pawn. York met with Blinken in June and said "it's clear to me that they're all-in on getting Brittney home."

Much of the substance from the conversations with the State Department requires confidentiality given the nature of the situation, Kirby York said. The key is disseminating what can be shared with the public, like her physical and emotional well-being.

"You can’t trust anything the Russian government has to say," she said.

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It comes down to President Joe Biden and Putin with the power to bring her home, but both leaders seek their own political cover, Kirby York explained. But a stronger and more repetitive call from Biden does have value.

"And I’m sure would make Brittney’s wife and family sleep better at night, including all kinds of Americans who have plenty of reasons to be abroad," Kirby York said.

The State Department failed to connect Griner, who is openly gay, to her wife Cherelle Griner on a phone call June 20, which is the couple's anniversary. Cherelle Griner has only communicated with her via email while she's been incarcerated.

"Everything about this is your biggest nightmare," Cherelle Griner told Al Sharpton on his radio show Wednesday.

Russian media has speculated that a prisoner swap, like the one that freed Trevor Reed from Russia in April, remains possible.

"But it’s not done because she’s not here," Cherelle Griner told Sharpton. "We’re not going to shut up about this until she’s back. We’re never going to allow them to take their precious time. Because every second that goes by, BG is struggling. She’s a human. She’s struggling. She’s there, terrified. She’s there, alone."

Kirby York believes that Griner's support in America would be greater if she wasn't part of the LGBTQ community.

"If people weren’t looking at her through the lens of racial biases and biases against LGBTQ people, there would be a lot more folks riled up to fight back and to push President Biden to act quickly and to negotiate a deal quickly," Kirby York said.

That level of intellectual curiosity to empathize with another American disappears when the person is Black and same-gender loving, says Kirby York.

"I know if it was Tom Brady being held against his will, those same people would be like, 'President Biden isn’t doing enough. President Biden needs to make a deal today.' "

'Hurts like hell over here'

Savannah Carrillo sat courtside at the Washington Mystics home game against the Atlanta Dream wearing a "We Are BG" shirt. Mystics forward Alysha Clark wore the same shirt in warmups.

The girlfriend of Mystics' 2022 first-round pick Christyn Williams, Carrillo put herself in Cherelle Griner's shoes.

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"It hurts like hell over here," Carrillo told USA TODAY Sports. The overriding emotion she's had while thinking about Griner has been "fear, to be honest with you."

Nneka Ogwumike, president of the players association, and other notable WNBA players have used social media to put pressure on the White House. Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm has posted the same message on Twitter every day:

"It has been 131 days since our friend, Brittney Griner, has been wrongfully detained in Russia. It is time for her to come home. @WhiteHouse @potus @vp, we are paying attention and we are counting on you. #WeAreBG"

The number on Stewart's counter hit 133 on Friday.

"Something. Anything," Carrillo responded when asked what type of action she wanted from the government.

Does she have any faith Russia will adjudicate the case properly?

"Honestly, no," Carrillo said, "but I would hope and pray so."

Said Cherelle Griner: "Nothing about this is justice."

Contributing: Mike Freeman; The Associated Press

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brittney Griner's trial starts Friday. This is what could happen.