Brittney Griner US basketball player who was imprisoned relocated to a Russian penal colony

• Brittney Griner is being transferred from a Russian prison to a correctional camp
• Cannabis oil vapes were discovered in her luggage in February at an airport close to Moscow
• She was found guilty of smuggling and in possession of cannabis oil in August

Brittney Griner, a jailed American basketball star, is being transferred from a Russian prison to a correctional camp.

When cannabis oil vapes were discovered in her luggage in February at an airport close to Moscow, she was detained.

The two-time Olympian was found guilty of smuggling and in possession of cannabis oil in August and given a nine-year prison term.

Although it is forbidden to use cannabis in Russia, Moscow has been charged with using Griner “as a political pawn”.

The 32-year-legal old’s team stated on Wednesday that the transfer started last week and that Griner was sent to a correctional colony, but they added that they were unsure of her current location or her destination.

The whereabouts of any overseas prisoner is often reported to the US embassy. According to Griner’s team, they might not learn for another two weeks.

Penal colonies are the offspring of gulags, or forced labour camps, which were prevalent throughout the Soviet era.

Prisoners are confined in barracks and given work to do in them. Prison colonies are also a source of money; some have factories that produce goods like food or clothing, and some prisoners work as contractors.

Griner admitted guilt at the time of her trial but said she had committed a “honest mistake” and had not intended to breach the law.

Despite Griner’s and her legal team’s efforts to get her nine-year sentence overturned last month, a court close to Moscow affirmed it, with the state prosecutor describing it as “reasonable.” Griner is widely regarded as the best female basketball player of all time.

In the appeal hearing via video link, the two-time Olympian apologized for her “honest error” and said that being imprisoned had been “traumatic” and “very, very stressful.”

Alexander Boykov, the WNBA star’s attorney, expressed hope that a prisoner exchange might be possible in a post-conviction interview.

In addition, Mr. Boykov criticized Griner’s sentence as being excessively harsh, saying that “No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner’s nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law,”

In Russia, having less than 6g of cannabis in your possession will typically result in a fine or 15 days in jail. When Griner travelled to Russia to play basketball during the US off-season, it’s believed that she had less than 1g of body weight.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, claimed that the basketball player was a “hostage” of the Russian government on the CBS Mornings programme after her appeal was denied.

If her spouse “has anything left in her tank to continue to wake up every day and be in a place where she has no-one”. she claimed she does not know.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the US was “unwavering” in its efforts to release Griner and other Americans who were being held in a prison colony after her relocation.

She continued by stating that US President Joe Biden had instructed his administration to act quickly in order to “prevail on her Russian kidnappers to better her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony.”

Brittney and other Americans held in Russia are anticipated to be accessible to US embassy personnel, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Biden administration suggested a prisoner swap with Russia in late July in order to obtain Griner’s release as well as the release of ex-marine Paul Whelan, who Moscow suspects of spying. Russia, according to officials, has not yet responded favorably to the idea and has stated that diplomacy should not be conducted in public.

Tensions between the two nations have increased as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one week after Griner’s detention and Washington’s support for Kyiv.

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