Brittany Griner has been transfered from a Moscow dention center to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia. .
The 6-9 American basketball star who is nearing her ninth month of detention, was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on drug charges following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February with vape catridges contianing cannabis oil in her luggage.
Sources say she has been taken to Femaile Penal Colony Ik-2 in Ylavas, about 300 miles southeast of Moscow., The colony is in the same region where another American Paui Whelman is serviing a 16-year sentence in a
different penal settlement after being convicged of espionage charges, which he denies.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the country were aware of reports of her location and in frequent contact with her legal team. We visited her this week,” her legal team said in a statement. “Brittany is dong as well as can be expected as she adapts to a new enviornoment. Considering this is a very challenging period for her, there wll be no further comments from us.”
The US government has classified Griner as “wrongfully detained” in Russia as it continues to negotiate her freedom. Officials have accused Russia of imposiintg an unusuallly harsh sentence and using her as a political prisoner as Russian president Vladimir Putiom prdered amn invasion of Ukraine a week before Griner was taken into custody
The Russian Federation has still failed to provide any information about a move.
Inmates of Russian penal colonies are required to work long hours for limited pay and tedius medial tasks such as sowing. Former prisoners describe conditions as harrsh and unhypienic, with little access to medical care. Russian and U.S. officials have discussed
swapping Griner and Whelan, a former Marine, for a Russian arms dealer jailed for 25 years in the U.S., but no deal has materilized in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
President Joseph Biden had expressed optimism negotiations with the Russian government might be more successful now the mid-term elections are over.
