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Brittney Griner Being Moved To A Russian Penal Colony, Her Lawyer Reports
(CTN NEWS) – U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner is being transferred to a penal colony by Russia, her lawyer said Wednesday, drawing a sharp rebuke from the White House.
In November, Brittney Griner was released from a detention center after being convicted of possessing a small quantity of cannabis oil.
Lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said she was “on her way to a penal colony.”
It takes two weeks for Russia to notify prisoners of their transformation by mail. They said there was no information on her exact location or final destination.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached out to Russia to propose a deal to free Griner despite soaring tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, reiterated that the United States had made a “substantial offer” to Russia.
“Every minute Brittney Griner is held wrong in Russia is a minute too long,” Jean-Pierre said.
“While the administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the president has instructed it to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions in which she may be forced to live.”
Brittney Griner, a two-time gold medalist in basketball at the Olympics and a WNBA champion, had travelled to Russia in her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury WNBA team to play for the professional Yekaterinburg squad.
The cannabis in her vape cartridges was used to treat pain from her sports injuries, but Russia does not permit medical marijuana use.
There are reports that Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan — a retired Marine arrested in December 2018 for spying — could be traded for Viktor Bout, a famous Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year sentence.
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