Russia transfers Brittney Griner to penal colony, and whereabouts of athlete uncertain

American basketball star Brittney Griner, imprisoned in Russia for eight months, was removed last Friday from a detention center near Moscow and is on her way to an undisclosed penal colony, her lawyers said on Wednesday. thursday (9).

The transfer to an unknown location raises concerns about the basketball player’s well-being and safety. Typically, the US embassy in Russia and lawyers are notified by email of the whereabouts of US prisoners, something that did not happen this time.

Griner’s defense says he hasn’t known where the athlete is for two weeks. The transfer of prisoners in Russia can take a long time due to the territorial extension of the country – the largest in the world.

For the lawyers, the fate was not revealed due to the media coverage of the case and due to geopolitical tensions. Griner was sentenced in August to nine years in prison, and his conviction calls for a forced labor camp – it is unclear where the sentence will be served.

The case has been dragging diplomatic friction between Moscow and Washington in the midst of the Ukraine War, and initial negotiations for extradition have even suggested a prisoner exchange – Moscow has admitted the possibility of freeing Griner and an ex-military in exchange for the arms dealer. arrested in the USA Viktor Bout. Moscow denies publicly commenting on this negotiation.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Griner was being transferred to a “remote penal colony”. He said he hoped Russian authorities would allow contact between embassy staff and American detainees.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, said that “despite Russia’s lack of good faith, the US government continues to monitor the offer and propose potential alternatives to move forward” in the athlete’s release. Recently, US President Joe Biden said he has guided his administration to launch efforts on Russian justice to improve conditions offered to Griner in prison.

The player was arrested in March at an airport in Russia for possession and smuggling of e-cigarette cartridges with cannabis oil – an illegal substance in the country. Since then, her defense has tried to overturn the sentence, despite defeats in the courts. In October, an appeal for the reduction and amendment of the sentence was denied; the court upheld the conviction in full.

Inmates of Russia’s penal colonies face harsh conditions: a tedious regimen of manual labor, poor hygiene, and poor access to medical care. The best-known opponent of Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalni, convicted of fraud and disrespect for justice, showed in July on social networks the daily life of the penal colony where he is being held.

Navalni said he works seven hours a day in front of a sewing machine, sitting on a stool lower than his knees. In his spare time, he said he receives educational measures: he sits for hours on end under a portrait of Putin.

Maria Aliokhina, arrested nearly two years ago for taking part in a 2012 protest by the feminist group Pussy Riot, gave an interview to Reuters last week. The activist said that 80 women slept in a room with only three bathrooms and no hot water. She likened the conditions to a Gulag, the forced labor camp created during the Soviet era.