US basketball star Brittney Griner has been moved to a Russian penal colony to serve her sentence, her lawyers say, ending days of speculation over her whereabouts.
Her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, thanked everyone who has reached out in support. “First, on behalf of Brittney, we would like to thank everyone who has expressed care for her,” they said in a statement. “We can confirm that Brittney began serving her sentence at IK-2 in Mordovia. “We visited her early this week. Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment.
Russian law also allows forced labor in penal colonies, and in some cases, inmates have been tortured to death, the report says. There also are reports of prison authorities recruiting inmates to abuse other inmates, the report adds. That Griner’s team did not know her whereabouts earlier is not unusual. Transfers to penal colonies are secret processes in Russia, with relatives and lawyers often unaware of where a prisoner is being sent for several days, according to Amnesty International.
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