Brittney Griner Transferred to Forced Labor Camp in Russia
(USNewsMag.com) – Russian authorities arrested Brittney Griner in February for possessing cannabis oil. She later pleaded guilty, and a court sentenced her to nine years in prison. It seems authorities have moved her to a new location.
On Wednesday, November 9, Griner’s attorneys revealed that Russian authorities moved her to another prison. NBC News reported Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina stated they don’t “have any information on her exact current location or her final destination.” The move is something her family has reportedly been afraid of because of the harsh conditions in the jails.
Heartbreaking update from @mitchellreports: Brittney Griner was moved to a Russian penal colony on November 4. This is something her family has said in the past they were fearing. Russia’s penal colonies are notoriously harsh with very poor food and terrible conditions.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) November 9, 2022
Karine Jean-Pierre, President Joe Biden’s press secretary, released a statement saying the government is working to ensure Griner is released from custody. She said that “every minute” the American is forced to “endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long.”
Griner is being placed in a penal colony where she will have to carry out labor during her incarceration. According to The Washington Post, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny once described Penal Colony No. 2 as the country’s “friendly concentration camp.” He claimed he was not allowed to sleep or receive medical care.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC the government is working to secure Griner’s release from Russia and said he expected the country to “provide our Embassy officials with regular access to all US citizens.”
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