The Brittney Griner saga has hit another critical point.
In an update to the situation, Reuters reported Thursday that the U.S. basketball star will enter a penal colony. Hümeyra Pamuk of Reuters reported that Griner had moved to a penal colony in Mordovia.
NEW: U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been taken to Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, about 500 km southeast of Moscow in the Russian region of Mordovia, source familiar with her case, tells @Reuters https://t.co/8Co6fQDEYh
— Hümeyra Pamuk (@humeyra_pamuk) November 17, 2022
Pamuk wrote in a tweet, “U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been taken to Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, about 500 km southeast of Moscow in the Russian region of Mordovia.”
The update comes after silence on Griner’s status for the last few weeks. The report read, “Russian authorities have given no information on her whereabouts for nearly two weeks.” It later read, “The colony is in Mordovia, the same region where another American, Paul Whelan, is serving a 16-year sentence in a different penal settlement after being convicted of espionage charges that he denies.”
A meeting was held between the U.S. and Russia on Monday. President Vladimir Putin met with a C.I.A. intelligence director on nuclear weapon use and unjustly kept prisoners like Griner.
U.S. President Joe Biden had spoken on the matter recently also. Biden is determined to free her from captivity. He had been steadfast about a prisoner swap between the two nations. The swap would include Griner, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian arms dealer and U.S. prisoner, Viktor Bout.
Those who have experienced penal colonies have shared their experiences on what’s next for Griner. Many of them are grim and horrifying to read.
[Reuters]
