Lawyers for U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner have claimed to have visited the athlete in the Russian penal colony to which she has been transferred over the past week from Moscow, confirming that she is in the Mordovia region of western Russia.
«We can confirm that Brittney has started serving her sentence in (…) Mordovia. We visited her earlier this week,» the player’s legal team said in a statement, ending days of speculation about her whereabouts.
«She is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong while adapting to a new environment,» the lawyers added, adding that it is «a very challenging period for her,» according to CNN.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas, has added that they will not provide further details. «But we want to express our deepest thanks to the Biden Administration, the Richardson Center, — who have tried to negotiate for her release — and everyone who has been in touch to offer words of encouragement for her.»
The U.S. State Department confirmed Wednesday that Griner — sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession — was being held in a Russian penal colony, without obtaining further details on her location.
The State Department’s deputy spokesman, Vedant Patel, denounced that Russia «has not provided any official notification» on the matter. Patel remarked that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and the entire diplomatic delegation, was «pressing for more information on the transfer and current location» of the athlete.
The White House has offered to exchange the player and former Marine Paul Whelan – imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges – for arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the ‘merchant of war’, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, although negotiations have not come to fruition.
