WASHINGTON:US basketball star Brittney Griner is being transferred to a Russian penal colony to serve the remainder of her smuggling sentence on drug charges that were upheld in late October.
Griner “is now on her way to a penal colony,” CNN reported citing her lawyers on Wednesday.
“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” said attorneys Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov.
“In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the attorneys, as well as the US Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. Notification is given via official mail and normally takes up to two weeks to be received,” the attorneys added.
In addition to the nine-year sentence for transporting cannabis oil into Russia, for which she was found guilty of drug smuggling and possession, the US Basketball player Brittney Griner was also fined 1 million rubles $16,500.
Describing Griner’s transfer to the Russian Penal Colony as “another injustice layered on her ongoing unjust and wrongful detention,” the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, “As we work to secure Brittney Griner’s release, we expect Russian authorities to provide our Embassy officials with regular access to all US citizens detained in Russia.”
Earlier in August, US President Joe Biden on Thursday called a Russian court’s decision to sentence US women’s basketball player Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges “unacceptable” and called for the immediate release of the athlete.
“It’s is unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said in a statement.
Notably, Russian penal colonies are extensively known for their poor hygiene and access to medical care, with inmates often required to perform manual labour, CNN reported.
In February, the Russian authorities detained Brittney Griner on drug charges after finding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage while she was at an airport near Moscow.
Moreover, last month, Griner lost her appeal against her sentence.
In Russia, she was stopped at an airport near Moscow and since then, her detention has been repeatedly extended.
Griner’s trial began on July 1 and she pleaded guilty. Her lawyers have argued that the star had a medical prescription for the hashish oil and mistakenly carried the drug into Russia. (ANI)