Brittney Griner
(Picture: AP)Jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner has been moved to a penal colony in Russia, her legal team has said.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist, 32, was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters containing hash oil were found in her luggage.
She was convicted and jailed on August 4 on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs.
Last month, a Russian court rejected an appeal against her nine-year sentence.
A new statement from her legal team released on Wednesday said: “Brittney was transferred from the detention centre in Iksha on November 4. She is now on her way to a penal colony.
“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded: “Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long.
“As the Administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the President has directed the Administration to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony.
“As we have said before, the US Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
Griner, an eight-time all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, pleaded guilty at her trial in August but said she had made an “honest mistake” and did not mean to break the law.
She admitted that she had vape canisters in her luggage, but testified during her trial that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent.
Her defence team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
During her appeal hearing last month, she apologised for her mistake, saying it had been “very, very stressful”.
“No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner’s nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law,” her lawyers told the court.
But the court near Moscow upheld the sentence, with the state prosecutor calling it “fair”.
Washington officials say Griner was wrongfully detained and have offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
Moscow has previously suggested it is open to a prisoner swap.
Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who travelled to Moscow in September, previously said he believes Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan could both be released by the end of the year.
