Brittney Griner Was Moved to a Remote Penal Colony in Central Russia, Her Lawyers Confirm

Julie Mazziotta
·3 min read
21
Policeman removes the handcuffs from WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner in a courtroom prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, . American basketball star Brittney Griner returned Wednesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted Russia Griner, Moscow, Russian Federation - 27 Jul 2022
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Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/Shutterstock Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner has been moved to a penal colony in a remote village in Central Russia to serve her nine-year prison sentence, her lawyers confirmed Thursday.

The WNBA star, 32, is now at IK-2 female penal colony in Yavas, a small town about seven hours from Moscow, in the Mordovia region.

"Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment," her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

They said that they were able to visit Griner earlier this week, and added that this is a "very challenging period for her."

RELATED: Brittney Griner's 32nd Birthday in Russian Prison Was a 'Difficult Day,' Her Lawyers Say

US' Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner (C), who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, shakes hands with her lawyer Alexander Boykov (R) next to Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Moscow Elizabeth Rood (L) before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022. - Lawyers for US basketball star Brittney Griner, who is standing trial in Russia on drug charges, said on July 26, 2022 they hoped she would receive a "lenient" sentence.

EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty Brittney Griner shakes hands with her lawyer Alexander Boykov

Griner was arrested Feb. 17 at the Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, with Russian Federal Customs Service charging her with possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil. On July 7, Griner pleaded guilty, saying that she did bring cannabis products into the country — where they are illegal — but that she was packing quickly and did not mean to break the law, and only did so "inadvertently."

The Phoenix Mercury star was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 4 on charges of smuggling drugs into the country, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years. After the trial, Blagovolina had called the sentence was "absolutely unreasonable." Blagovolina and Boykov appealed the sentence, but on Oct. 25 their appeal was denied, and Griner's nine years upheld in a Russian court.

There is still hope that Griner will be part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia. In July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Biden administration said that they are in discussions with Russia to swap Griner and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in the country, for a not-yet-named Russian prisoner held in the U.S.

RELATED VIDEO: Brittney Griner 'On Her Way' to Russian Penal Colony, Attorneys Say

Blagovolina previously told PEOPLE that as the months and weeks pass with no news about the possible exchange, Griner is increasingly "more anxious and worried."

Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, told CBS' Gayle King last month that the events have been playing out "like a movie" to her.

RELATED: Brittney Griner Speaks Out from Russian Prison: 'All the Support and Love Are Definitely Helping'

"I'm like, in no world did I ever thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation's president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife," Cherelle said. "And so to me, as much as everybody's telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me as if she's a hostage."

"It terrifies me, because when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don't end well," Cherelle added. "Sometimes they never get their person back."