Russia transfers basketball player Brittney Griner to penal colony

Date:

The athlete, convicted of possessing a small amount of cannabis oil, was evacuated from prison on November 4 and her lawyers do not know her final destination

US basketball champion Brittney Griner, sentenced in Russia to nine years in prison, has been transferred to an unknown penal colony, according to her lawyers. This journey was made incommunicado, something that can take a long time. The 32-year-old athlete was convicted in August of ‘drug trafficking’. He was in possession of a small amount of cannabis oil. His supporters denounce an unfounded and political decision in the middle of the conflict in Ukraine, with a view to a possible prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington.

In a statement, his lawyers said Griner had left his remand near Moscow on Nov. 4 and was now “on his way to a penal colony.” In Russia, these transfers, often to remote locations, can take several days, sometimes even weeks. Normally, prisoners travel on special trains through the vast Russian territory, stopping at various prisons, without the possibility of communication.

Relatives of detainees are often not informed of the place of detention until they have reached their final destination. Griner’s lawyers have “no information about his exact whereabouts.” US President Joe Biden has called on Moscow to “improve the treatment and conditions it may have to undergo in the colony,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean Pierre said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described his transfer as “another injustice on top of his unjust detention”.

Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport in possession of a vaporizer containing a cannabis-based liquid. He admitted to the crime but claimed he accidentally took the substance, which he legally uses as a pain reliever in the United States. The Russian court was not lenient and sentenced her to nine years in prison in August.

The women’s basketball player used to go to Russia to play during the Russian off-season, a common practice for US women’s league players, who tend to live better abroad than in the United States. During the trial, her team from the Russian city of Yekaterinburg stood up for her, but in vain. On October 25, his appeal was rejected, paving the way for his transfer to a penal colony.

The athlete’s case gained geopolitical importance in the context of the crisis between Moscow and Washington during the offensive in Ukraine. Other US citizens are imprisoned in Russia and their government is also asking for their release. The United States repeatedly said it made an “important offer” to Russia for the release of Griner and another American detainee, former military officer Paul Whelan.

Whelan’s family regularly denounces his terms of detention in a colony in Mordovia. They claim that he is intentionally under-sleeping and unable to get the medical care he needs. There are regular reports of mass torture and rape in Russian penal colonies inherited from the Soviet concentration camp system. According to Russian diplomatic sources, Griner and a Russian arms dealer in the United States, Viktor But, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, could be involved in a possible prisoner swap.

Source: La Verdad

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related