• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Brittney Griner is being moved to a Russian penal colony and her lawyer has no idea where she is going

Home> News

Updated 20:13 9 Nov 2022 GMTPublished 20:01 9 Nov 2022 GMT

Brittney Griner is being moved to a Russian penal colony and her lawyer has no idea where she is going

It could be weeks before lawyers or the US consulate have any idea where the WNBA star is.

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang

American WNBA star Brittney Griner is being moved to a Russian penal colony to serve out her nine year sentence.

Her lawyers, family, and the US consulate currently have no clue to the current location of the American Olympian after she fell off the radar during her transfer to one of Russia's notorious penal colonies.

Her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, confirmed to CNN that they have no information on her location or to what jail she is being sent to.

"In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the lawyers, as well as the US Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination," they said.

Advert

Griner will spend nine years in prison.
REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

"Notification is given via official mail and normally takes up to two weeks to be received."

That means it could be weeks before Griner's family or the American embassy have any idea where the WNBA star is in Russia.

Russia's penal colonies are known for their incredibly grim conditions, with previous inmates describing slave-like treatment and a harrowing quality of life.

Advert

Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny served time in a penal colony not far from Moscow and once described the jail as a 'friendly concentration camp' in an Instagram post.

"Video cameras are everywhere, everyone is watched and at the slightest violation they make a report," Putin’s most outspoken critic said.

"I think someone upstairs read Orwell's 1984 and said: 'Yeah, cool. Let's do this. Education through dehumanisation'."

Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas, has expressed her concern for her client's health and well-being.

Advert

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

"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," she said in a statement, as per CNN.

Griner was arrested at a Russian airport back in February after police allegedly found cannabis oil cartridges in her luggage.

The basketballer only had 0.7 grams of THC in her possession when she was arrested.

Advert

The 31-year-old has remained in Russian custody ever since and was convicted in August for drug smuggling and possession.

The Olympic champion has since tried to appeal her nine year sentence, but it was rejected by the Russian court.

Griner had been in Russia to play for Russian basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the off-season of the WNBA.

Featured Image Credit: Sipa US/ Alamy. REUTERS/Alamy.

Topics: Russia, US News, Crime, Drugs, World News, Basketball

Rachel Lang
Rachel Lang

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
3 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    Demi Moore’s most shocking sex confessions after admitting to cheating on husband the night before their wedding

    From scandal to strength, Demi Moore’s candid past still shocks fans

    Celebrity
  • Getty Stock Images
    3 hours ago

    Daughter discovers dad's secret after woman and two strangers show up to his funeral

    A final goodbye turned into a shocking family revelation

    News
  • Getty Images
    5 hours ago

    Doctor reveals the one part of your body you should never shave and warns of dangers

    Doctor Mike addresses the medical questions people are too embarrassed to ask

    News
  • Getty Images/Andrew Lichtenstein
    5 hours ago

    Plans to kill half a million wild owls in the US spark outrage as senator calls it 'dumbest thing ever'

    The Biden-era proposal hopes that by culling 500,000 barred owls, the endangered spotted owl can recover in numbers

    News
  • Brittney Griner Sentenced To Nine Years In Russian Drug Trial
  • The universe is expanding faster than ever but scientists have no idea why
  • Woman who had no idea she was pregnant gives birth in RV at Burning Man
  • Captain of cargo ship that collided with oil tanker and burst into flames identified as Russian national