Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

June 9, 2025
+91
°
F

Russia Transfers Brittney Griner to Dreaded Penal Colony

Russian authorities have transferred Brittney Griner to the country’s dreaded penal colony, a move that, while expected, she and her family had hoped could be avoided.
Attorneys for Griner said they don’t expect to know her exact location for a couple of weeks.
Russian officials jailed Griner in February when authorities arrested her at a Moscow airport after finding a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.
A court convicted Griner in August of trying to smuggle narcotics. She received a nine-year sentence, which an appeals court upheld last month.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden had directed all in the administration to prevail on her “Russian captors” to improve Griner’s treatment and the conditions many must endure in the country’s penal colony.
Individuals who’ve spent time at one of Russia’s infamous penal colonies reported that prisoners aren’t allowed outside contact for weeks.
The colonies are notorious for corrections officers’ repeated abuse of prisoners, violence among inmates, lack of food, and inadequate sanitation.
Confirmed reports said the United States government had offered to swap the so-called “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout for Griner and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan.
Bout, who’s serving a 25-year federal prison sentence and notorious for his desire to kill Americans, reportedly has been at the top of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish list.
“We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians,” a senior administration official said earlier this year. “We communicated that many weeks ago, in June.”
The families of Whelan, who Russia has held for alleged espionage since 2018, and WNBA star Griner, jailed in Moscow for drug possession since February, have urged the White House to secure their release, including via a prisoner exchange, if necessary, the report stated.
During her court testimony, Griner said she’s still unsure how cannabis oil ended up in her luggage.
She said a doctor recommended cannabis oil for her injuries on the basketball court.
“I still don’t understand to this day how they ended up in my bags,” Griner said, adding that she was aware of the Russian law outlawing cannabis oil and that she had not intended to break it.
“I didn’t have any intention to use or keep in my possession any substance that is prohibited in Russia,” Griner said.
U.S. officials continue to wait for word from the Russian government on whether they will accept the swap.

Latest Articles

NEED PAST ISSUES?

Search our archive of past issues Receive our Latest Updates
 
* indicates required
Search