Brittney Griner has been transferred to a penal colony in western Russia, her lawyers say - CNN

CNN  — 

American hoops prima Brittney Griner has been transferred to a penal colony successful Yavas, successful the occidental Russian portion of Mordovia, her lawyers said Thursday, ending days of speculation implicit her whereabouts.

Her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, thanked everyone who has reached retired successful support.

“First, connected behalf of Brittney, we would similar to convey everyone who has expressed attraction for her,” they said successful a statement. “We tin corroborate that Brittney began serving her condemnation astatine IK-2 successful Mordovia.

“We visited her aboriginal this week. Brittney is doing arsenic good arsenic could beryllium expected and trying to enactment beardown arsenic she adapts to a caller environment. Considering that this is simply a precise challenging play for her, determination volition beryllium nary further comments from us.”

On Wednesday, the US State Department said it had been successful interaction with Griner’s ineligible squad and was alert of reports she had been sent to a penal colony astir a seven-hour thrust southeast of Moscow.

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“However, the Russian Federation has inactive failed to supply immoderate authoritative notification for specified a determination of a U.S. citizen, which we powerfully protest. The Embassy has continued to property for much accusation astir her transportation and existent location,” a spokesperson said.

Griner’s representatives confirmed antecedently she had been transferred from a detention halfway successful Iksha connected November 4 – and that she was destined for a penal colony – but “we bash not person immoderate accusation connected her nonstop existent determination oregon her last destination. In accordance with the modular Russian procedure, the attorneys, arsenic good arsenic the U.S. Embassy, should beryllium notified upon her accomplishment astatine her destination. Notification is fixed via authoritative message and usually takes up to 2 weeks to beryllium received.”

The Olympic golden medalist and onetime WNBA champ is trying to stay beardown aft 9 months separated from her loved ones, her agent, Lindsay Colas, said.

“At this time, we volition not beryllium sharing immoderate further details, but privation to explicit our deepest acknowledgment to the Biden Administration, the Richardson Center, and to everyone who has reached retired to connection words of encouragement to her,” she said. Letters person poured successful from astir the satellite and BG has been buoyed by the support. Each missive matters and we promote everyone to proceed to constitute and share your support.”

The Richardson Center for Global Engagement “promotes planetary bid and dialog by identifying and moving connected areas of accidental for engagement and national diplomacy with countries and communities not usually unfastened to much ceremonial diplomatic channels,” its website says.

The superior interest has been Griner’s wellness and well-being, Colas said earlier this week.

While conditions alteration among Russian penal colonies, governmental prisoners are often placed successful harsh conditions wherever they tin beryllium subjected to “solitary confinement oregon punitive stays successful psychiatric units,” the State Department’s quality rights study says.

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Russian instrumentality besides allows forced labour successful penal colonies, and successful immoderate cases, inmates person been tortured to death, the study says. There besides are reports of situation authorities recruiting inmates to maltreatment different inmates, the study adds.

That Griner’s squad did not cognize her whereabouts earlier is not unusual. Transfers to penal colonies are concealed processes successful Russia, with relatives and lawyers often unaware of wherever a captive is being sent for respective days, according to Amnesty International.

Last month, Griner lost her entreaty against a nine-year cause sentence. She was detained successful February and convicted successful August aft acknowledging she had vape cartridges containing cannabis. She has repeatedly apologized for bringing a tiny magnitude of the substance into the country, wherever she played hoops successful the offseason.

Mordovia is the aforesaid portion wherever American Paul Whelan is being held. The erstwhile U.S. Marine is serving 16 years successful a antithetic penal colony connected espionage charges helium denies.

Griner’s detention has raised concerns she is being utilized arsenic a governmental pawn successful Russia’s warfare against Ukraine.

Most of Russia’s prisons are penal colonies, wherever inmates are housed successful barracks and are often enactment to work, according to a study by Poland-based deliberation vessel the Centre for Eastern Studies, known arsenic the OSW. More than 800 specified facilities existed crossed Russia arsenic of 2019, the enactment said.

Built during the Soviet Union, astir of the colonies person been likened to Soviet-era gulags; situation camps that expanded crossed the portion during Josef Stalin’s regularisation successful the mid-20th century.

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Russia houses astir fractional a cardinal prisoners successful its facilities, 1 of the highest rates successful Europe, according to the World Prison Brief, but numbers person declined successful caller years – successful opposition to astir parts of the world.

The level of supervision and restrictions placed connected inmates contiguous depends connected the installation to which they’re sentenced. Not each necessitate labor, but respective high-profile dissidents, activists and overseas nationals who person been sent to colonies picture harrowing and hard experiences.

Inmates are often taken immense distances crossed the country. Journeys to colonies are unsafe and tin past arsenic agelong arsenic 1 month, according to Amnesty International. The trips often instrumentality spot successful cramped bid carriages, and inmates often get successful overcrowded facilities with mediocre and aging infrastructure, the OSW found.

“Despite respective attempts to betterment the situation strategy successful Russia, they inactive lucifer the Soviet Gulag,” the enactment said. “Human rights violations and torture are common.”