EXPLAINER: What Griner may endure in Russian penal system
WNBA star Brittney Griner this week began serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony
LONDON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a remote Russian penal colony that human rights advocates say is known for harsh conditions and violent criminals. It's in a region once synonymous with the Soviet gulag.
Griner was convicted Aug. 4 after customs agents said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist said she had been prescribed cannabis for pain and had no criminal intent.
After a Russian court rejected her appeal last month, her lawyers said she was taken to the IK-2 colony in Mordovia, a region 350 kilometers (210 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Here is a look at what life looks like at Russian penal colonies, and at Griner's prospects of being freed in a U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange.
