After extracting her from a penitentiary center near Moscow on November 4, the Russian authorities had given no information about her place of detention for nearly two weeks.

Lawyers for American basketball player Brittney Griner announced on Thursday (November 17th) that their client had been transferred to a penal colony in central Russia to serve a heavy prison sentence for "drug trafficking".

"Brittney began serving her sentence at (penal colony) IK-2 in Mordovia," a region in central Russia known for its prisons and harsh climate, lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boikov said in a statement. adding that they had been able to visit their client earlier this week.

The 32-year-old sportswoman "is doing as well as possible and is trying to stay strong and adapt to her new environment", added the lawyers, stressing that their client was going through a "very difficult period".

His transfer comes after the rejection of his request to appeal following a heavy nine-year prison sentence in August for "drug trafficking", after his arrest in February at a Moscow airport in possession of a vaporizer containing liquid. based on cannabis oil.

A prison system with a bad reputation

His supporters denounce a condemnation to an excessive and politically motivated sentence, with a view to a possible exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Washington, whose relations have been greatly strained in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.

The White House ruled last week that "every minute Brittney Griner has to endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long."

Penal colony IK-2, short for "correction colony number 2" in Russian, is located in the town of Iavas in Mordovia and has more than 800 prisoners.

Russian penal colonies are notorious for the mistreatment of their inmates, who are crammed into unsanitary barracks and often without access to adequate care.

Human rights NGOs regularly denounce the abuses and acts of torture committed in Russian prisons, often by prisoners who maintain good relations with the guards in exchange for privileges.

With Reuters and AFP

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