Lawyers for WNBA superstar Brittney Griner have revealed that they are unsure of the 32-year-old’s location in Russia following a failed attempt at appealing her nine-year sentence on drug smuggling charges.
Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov told reporters that while they believe Griner is being transported to a penal colony in the country, it’s unclear where she is and where she is headed. The transfer process can take several weeks.
The lawyers stated, “We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination. In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the attorneys, as well as the U.S. 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.”
This update follows a visit paid to Griner on November 3, 2022, by officials from the US Embassy in Moscow. It’s believed that the transfer process began the next day, November 4, 2022.
The family of Paul Whelan, an American who is currently also unlawfully detained in Russia, has offered up his experience as insight into what Griner might be going through right now. Whelan’s brother David Whelan said of Russian prisoners, “They disappear off the face of the earth.”
The family also states that if the process is similar to what Paul Whelan went through, Griner will be “placed in a small, windowless railroad car with no information about her destination. She will have no communication with her legal team, U.S. officials or her family.”
It’s believed that Griner could be taken to a type of transition camp at first, and the entire process of arriving from one place to the final destination can take a month. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Russian penal colonies, though some firsthand accounts paint a dark picture of what Griner might experience.
Griner will be placed at a female-only colony, though that doesn’t mean anything about the experience is expected to be easy for her. It’s assumed that she might be given a physically demanding job because of her height. Former prisoners have detailed their experiences in similar colonies as including “a lack of regular medical care, long stretches in isolation for seemingly innocuous offenses, bitterly cold and uncomfortable conditions, plank-like beds and severely limited contact with the outside world.”
Several who know and love Griner are concerned for how she will hold up while in prison. Griner has been open about what attending therapy has added to her life, and her wife Cherelle has revealed that Griner is struggling. Cherelle recently said that Griner is “at her absolute weakest moment in life right now … she’s saying things to me like, ‘my life just don’t even matter no more.'”
They said she was going to be housed in a penal colony, guess they moved her.
Why doesn’t Cherelle her wife ask BLM to get involved, maybe even Al Sharpton can go there and negotiate a release – this will bring in tons of donations!
Oh well! You get sentenced.Serve your time . Think next time before you go to or thru a foreign country!
Firstly, there are no “prescriptions” for medical weed. A doctor can recommend it might be the best option for you, but no AMA doctor can prescribe it. You have to go to a ‘clinic’ which is a joke. Been there, done that-You are made KEENLY aware that you are NOT TO CROSS STATE LINES…even if you are going from one state to another that it is legal. EVERY PRODUCT from a dispensary is clearly labelled not to cross state lines. She CHOSE to cross BORDERS. She knew what she was doing…don’t commit the crime if you’re not prepared to do the time. Maybe Midnight Express ought to be required viewing for anybody going to get medical weed now.
She messed up….too bad. She has to pay the price now.
Oh well ya did the crime now do the time and quit asking for the U.S. to help you out when ya hate the U.S., kneal for the anthem and the flag.
She broke the law of another country. She’s a spoiled American who disrespected the law of a foreign nation. She couldn’t even respect her own country enough to represent it in an uplifting manner. She should be punished for breaking the law. I wish America would do the same thing. You break the law you pay the fine; whether it be jail time or just a hefty fee.
People who bad mouth America and refuse to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem only need to see what people in other countries experience. Griner forgot she was not in the U.S. where she could do as she pleased and not even get a slap on the wrist. By the time Griner gets out of the gulag, she will be too old to practice her trade.
She KNEW that she had the stuff but chose not to obey another country’s law. That would be like me going to Canada and breaking their laws. I’d be punished because I knew what I did was wrong, but I chose to do it anyway. If she didn’t want to do the time, she shouldn’t have done the crime, thinking that she’s a “sports star” she would have gotten away with it. Russia is stringent on its drug laws, unlike the U.S. where you can do illegal drugs but get bailed out or serve a light stint for it. (depending on the kind of illegal drugs)
You guys are super Harsh. Where I do believe we have to follow laws, I also believe that this punishment does not fit the crime and her location should at least be made known. She is still a US citizen. Makes me wonder if this sentence is worse because she is a US citizen? Does Russian citizens who basically do the same get the same sentence?