Basketball star Brittney Griner is now confined to a Russian penal colony where conditions are horrific as described by activists
Since Brittney Griner’s removal from a jail outside of Moscow roughly two weeks ago, it was unknown where she would be transferred to serve her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession and smuggling.
Thursday, that changed, as it was announced in a statement made by Griner’s attorneys that the seven-time All-Star would serve the remainder of her detention period in a remote penal colony 300 miles southeast of Moscow in the Mordovia region.
In that statement, her attorney mentioned that Griner was, “doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment.”
The penal colony where Griner was transferred is far from Moscow, which was the desired location for many of Brittney’s advocates as it would have enabled her easier access to her attorneys.
Conditions are very bleak in the penal colony, known as IK-2 in the town of Yavas according to a Reuters interview with Olga Romanova from the prison rights group Russia Behind Bars.
The women there get punished. They punish the unit that’s at fault, when they haven’t worked hard enough, for example; when they don’t take part properly in (prison) activities; when there’s some kind of incident where they don’t do some exercise the right way. Someone refuses to go to work. That kind of thing. And when they punish the unit, they don’t get any hot water. And not for an hour or two, but for a few days.
Russian activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova from feminist punk collective Pussy Riot spent two years in a similar labor camp and shared her experiences in a video where she described what she believes will be the hardest parts of the experience for Griner.
Faced with these terrible realities, President Joe Biden stated he was “determined to get her (Griner) home,” when asked recently about the situation.
“My hope is that now that the election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden added.
Biden’s hope is boosted by news from Russia on their willingness to negotiate a prisoner exchange involving convicted arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Known as the “merchant of death”, Bout was convicted in a US court in 2012 and sentenced to 25 years. Swapping someone known as a death merchant for a star basketball player caught up in global politics doesn’t seem like a fair deal, but at this point, we support whatever it takes to bring Griner home.
One day after lawyers confirmed that Brittney Griner had been transferred to a penal colony outside Moscow, Russia on Friday reiterated its openness to a prisoner exchange with the U.S. involving Viktor Bout, a notorious convicted arms dealer. https://t.co/m67nQ24tdj
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 18, 2022
Griner has been in Russian custody since February, when she was arrested for carrying cannabis oil vape cartridges on an airplane while traveling with her long-time overseas team UMMC Ekaterinburg. At her trial, Griner admitted to having the canisters in her luggage, but contended that she had no criminal intent.
For more information and updates on Griner, check out our Story Stream.
