Russian prosecutors unveiled their case against imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner Friday, as her trial on Russian drug-possession charges began some four months after her arrest at a Moscow airport.

Press access was restricted, but Russian news agency TASS reported that Russian prosecutors alleged Griner purchased cannabis oil before arriving in Russia knowing that the substance was illegalin the country.

“Being sufficiently aware that the movement of narcotic drugs is not allowed [in Russia] … [Griner] purchased from an unidentified person for personal use two cartridges containing 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil, and in total – 0.702 grams,” the prosecution said.

Griner arrived in the Khimki City Court, on the outskirts of Moscow, wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt and sneakers without laces.

The WNBA all-star sat in the defendant’s cage — a typical component of a Russian criminal court — with a bag of cookies and a bottle of water.

Three US embassy officials — including deputy chief of mission Elizabeth Rood — were present for the proceedings.

Outside the courthouse, an attorney for Griner, Alexander Boykov, said it was premature to talk about the case in any detail.

“I wouldn’t want to talk on the specifics of the case and on the charges and to comment on our position on it because it’s too early for it,” he told reporters.

Griner has been in Russian custody since February, when she was arrested at a Moscow airport for allegedly having cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage. She was entering the country in order to play for a Russian team during the WNBA’s off season, as she has for the past several years.

Griner told a Reuters reporter on Friday that she was finding Russian jail difficult because she could not speak the language. She also said she was having a hard time keeping her fitness up while detained.

“She is a bit worried because she has the trial and the sentencing in the close future. But she is a tough lady. I think that she will manage,” Boykov told a Reuters reporter.

He declined to say how Griner intended to plead. 

Earlier this week, a Russian court extended the athlete’s detention until December.

Griner could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs. 

Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in the US, acquittals can be overturned.

Griner’s arrest came at a time of high tension between Washington and Moscow, as the Kremlin geared up to invade Ukraine.

The US has alleged that Griner’s detention is a political ploy by Moscow, an accusation that Putin flack Dmitry Peskov rejected Friday.

“It cannot be politically motivated,” Peskov told TASS Friday. 

“[The] facts are that a famous athlete was apprehended with forbidden compounds that contained narcotic substances. Russian legislation indeed has provisions that stipulate punishment for such crimes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russian news media have repeatedly raised speculation that Griner could be swapped for Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to kill US citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization.

The Biden administration has turned Griner’s case over to the State Department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a team that negotiates the release of Americans being held hostage and others classified as being wrongfully detained in other countries.

Asked last Sunday on CNN if the administration was considering a prisoner swap for Griner, Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged the question.

“As a general proposition … I have got no higher priority than making sure that Americans who are being illegally detained in one way or another around the world come home,” he said before adding, “I can’t comment in any detail on what we’re doing, except to say this is an absolute priority.”

With Post wires