The U.S. basketball star was transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia — 300 miles southeast of Moscow — to begin serving out a nine-year sentence on drug charges.
Maria Alyokhina was sent to a penal colony as a member of the feminist punk collective. Authorities "teach you how to forget your right to choose," she says. She urges Griner "to not forget yourself."
Griner has been moved from a detention center outside of Moscow and is being sent to a Russian penal colony to begin serving out her nine-year sentence on drug smuggling charges, her lawyers said.
The decision effectively sends Griner to serve out her nine-year term in a Russian prison colony, even as the U.S. and Russia appear set to reengage in talks for a possible prisoner swap.
President Biden has said Griner and Whelan are wrongfully detained in Russia. Griner, a WNBA star, was convicted of marijuana possession, and Whelan, an ex-Marine, was convicted of espionage.
Griner's attorney was quoted by Russian news agencies on Monday as saying the appeal was filed, but the grounds of the appeal were not immediately clear.
The U.S. and Russia are trying to work out a prisoner exchange that involves basketball star Brittney Griner. While they've done deals for decades, the trading usually involves spies for spies.
The ruling came nearly six months after Griner was detained. Russia has indicated that any potential deal or prisoner swap to secure her release would have to wait until after a verdict in her case.
The U.S. has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
The WNBA star took the stand in Russian court Wednesday to explain why she had vape cartridges in the first place, how they ended up in her luggage and what happened after they were discovered.
A lawyer for the WNBA star at her drug possession trial in Russia gave the court a U.S. doctor's letter recommending she use medical cannabis to treat pain. Medical marijuana is not legal in Russia.
The WNBA star's defense team is expected to argue her case at Thursday's hearing, the third in her trial on drug charges. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
