US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is in the process of being transferred to a Russian penal colony to serve the remainder of a nine-year sentence for drug trafficking upheld in late October.
Griner “is now on her way to a penal colony,” her lawyers said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.
“We have no information about her exact current location or final destination,” said lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov.
“According to standard Russian procedure, lawyers, as well as the US Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. The notice is given by official mail and usually takes up to two weeks to be received.”
Russian penal colonies are notorious for their lack of sanitation and access to medical care, with inmates often subjected to manual labor.
Last month, Griner lost her appeal against her nine-year drug sentence. He was arrested in February and convicted in August of intentionally smuggling drugs into Russia.
He has repeatedly apologized for bringing a small amount of cannabis into the country, where he played basketball in the off-season.
In a statement, Griner’s representatives confirmed that they are not aware of her current location or condition.
“Our primary concern continues to be BG’s health and well-being,” said her agent Lindsay Colas. “As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we are asking for the public’s support to continue to write letters and express their love and care for her.”
Griner’s detention has raised concerns that she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The US government condemned the rejection of her appeal last week, with a State Department spokesman calling it “another miscarriage of justice, which only compounds the original injustice of her detention”.
title: “Brittney Griner Begins Transfer To Russian Penal Colony Lawyers Say "
ShowToc: true
date: “2022-12-23”
author: “Krista Heath”
US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is in the process of being transferred to a Russian penal colony to serve the remainder of a nine-year sentence for drug trafficking upheld in late October.
Griner “is now on her way to a penal colony,” her lawyers said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.
“We have no information about her exact current location or final destination,” said lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov.
“According to standard Russian procedure, lawyers, as well as the US Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. The notice is given by official mail and usually takes up to two weeks to be received.”
Russian penal colonies are notorious for their lack of sanitation and access to medical care, with inmates often subjected to manual labor.
Last month, Griner lost her appeal against her nine-year drug sentence. He was arrested in February and convicted in August of intentionally smuggling drugs into Russia.
He has repeatedly apologized for bringing a small amount of cannabis into the country, where he played basketball in the off-season.
In a statement, Griner’s representatives confirmed that they are not aware of her current location or condition.
“Our primary concern continues to be BG’s health and well-being,” said her agent Lindsay Colas. “As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we are asking for the public’s support to continue to write letters and express their love and care for her.”
Griner’s detention has raised concerns that she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The US government condemned the rejection of her appeal last week, with a State Department spokesman calling it “another miscarriage of justice, which only compounds the original injustice of her detention”.
