'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
American WNBA star Brittney Griner is being moved from a detention center in Iksha, Russia, to a Russian penal colony, according to her legal team.
On February 17, 2022, the basketball star was arrested at the Moscow airport after vape cartridges containing cannabis oils were found in her possession. She was taken to a detention center in the capital city. The White House has deemed her detention "wrongful" and has been working to secure her release.
Brittney Griner to be moved to a penal colony, legal team concerned about her health
First introduced by the British and French empires, a penal colony is an overseas island settlement or facility used to punish criminals by means of forced labor and isolation from society. Most countries disbanded these facilities and moved on to more modern holding facilities.
In Russia, these colonies were set up by the empire to enforce a form of penal labor called 'kartoga' and were again used during the Soviet Union era when prison labor was used to further industrialization, under Vladimir Lenin as 'gulag camps' and then again under Joseph Stalin.
Now, penal colonies are a unique feature of Russia's correctional system. Unlike the closed prison system in the United States, inmates in penal colonies live together in barracks. The legally required area for each prison inmate is two square meters, and in most cases, it is not followed. These colonies are notoriously known for mistreating inmates.
Brittney Griner's legal team has no information on her current location, nor do they know which colony she will be sent to. It has been reported that they will be notified of all the details via mail after she has arrived at the allotted facility. She faces harsh conditions and isolation, and her family will be unable to contact her easily.
Griner's team is in close contact with the US government and with the Richardson Center, an organization that works on releasing American detainees, the US basketball star's agent Lindsay Colas reported.
Colas also added that her client's health and well-being were the team's top priority and urged the public to continue supporting Brittney by sending letters and well wishes. She said:
"As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we ask for the public's support in continuing to write letters and express their love and care for her."
The two-time Olympic gold medal winner was visiting Russia to compete in the WNBA off-season games when she was found in possession of cannabis oils and was promptly arrested.
On August 4, Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison, following which her team appealed the sentencing. Last month, the team lost the appeal. Her transfer process is underway, although the notification containing her exact location will take up to two weeks to be received.
