Concerns For Brittany Griner Grow After Former Inmate Reveal 17-Hour Work Days, Cooking, Cleaning, No Days Off At Russian Penal Colony
As advocates strive to organise for Brittney Griner’s release, she continues to make headlines. Since officials in Moscow discovered v’ape ca’rtridges and c’annabis oil in her suitcase in February, the WNBA star has been stranded in the Russian language.
Cherelle Griner, her wife, has been working to raise awareness of her situation until a workable solution is found, but it appears that things are just getting worse for their family. Most recently, she “disappeared,” and once her lawyers found her,
information about the severe conditions in her new facility surfaced. In a recent interview with CBS News anchor Gayle King, Cherelle claimed that her wife was at her “lowest point.” Brittany was preparing for her hearing on October 25 and hoped to contest the charges against her.
Cherelle was bracing for the worst that Brittany would be sent to a labour camp if her appeal was turned down. Before news of Brittany’s ar’rest made headlines in her native nation back in March, she had been held for more than a month. The resident of Houston, Texas,
admitted to transporting dr’ugs into Russia and could have spent up to nine years in prison. Griner has a medical m’arijuana prescription in Arizona and began playing basketball professionally in Russia in 2014. Unfortunately,
it hasn’t made a difference for her in Russia. How are you still standing, that’s why I say she’s strong. How on earth are you still alive after all this? Gayle was notified by Cherelle Griner last month. Sadly, Griner’s appeal in Russia was de’nied,
and last month she reportedly started serving her nine-year sentence in a fo’rced labour camp. According to reports, she was transferred without the consent of her legal counsel, and they were unaware of her current whereabouts. When Griner finally came to light,
it was discovered that she was being de’tained in the worst prison in the nation. P** Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova is one of the band’s musicians. In August 2012, Nadya was im’prisoned in the same location for “h’ooli’ganism motivated by re’ligious hatred” and given a two-year term.
She claims that the location to which Griner was dispatched is the worst in all of Russia. She remembers that prisoners were made to labour up to 17 hours a day without breaks, performing tasks including cooking, cleaning, and sewing.
The United States has been at’tempting to obtain her release by proposing to transfer prisoners with Russia, but no agreement has been reached. Griner and Paul Whelan, another American taken captive in Russia, would be exchanged for Viktor Bout,
a renowned Russian arms trader. On Instagram, comedian Loni Love added her two cents, asserting that keeping Griner is part of a much bigger strategy. Remind them that deportation would often be the pe’nalty if this happened to a foreigner in Russia.
