By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
In an expected but still disarming move, WNBA star Brittney Griner has been moved to a Russian penal colony her legal team announced Wednesday.
However, her lawyers do not know exactly where she is now or where she will be going.
A statement released from her legal team Wednesday read in part:
“Brittney was transferred from the detention center in Iksha on the 4th November. She is now on her way to a penal colony. We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination.”
The move was immediately condemned by the WNBA as well as officials in the Biden Administration.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said:
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long. As the Administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the President has directed the Administration to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony. As we have said before, the U.S. Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
A statement from the WNBA read:
We are concerned about Brittney Griner’s well- being given the news of her transfer. BG is wrongfully detained, and the work continues to get her home. #WeareBG
And Secretary of State Antony Blinken said:
“We strongly protest the movement of Brittney Griner to a remote penal colony and the Russian government’s use of wrong detentions. I am committed to bringing home Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan as soon as possible.”
Last month a Russian court rejected Griner’s appeal of her nine-year-sentence for drug possession.
Griner, a Houston native who played college basketball at Baylor University, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. She was overseas playing basketball during the WNBA offseason.
She admitted having the canisters but that she inadvertently packed them and had no criminal intent.
The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist has been detained for 265 days.
Stay tuned to Texas Metro News for updates on this developing story.
