US basketball star Brittney Griner begins serving sentence in Russian penal colony
- The two-time Olympic gold medallist was detained in February when Moscow customs agents said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage
- Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison. She was sent to a penal colony after a Russian court rejected her appeal of her sentence last month
WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony, her lawyers and agent said on Thursday.
Griner was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, about 350km (210 miles) east of Moscow, after a Russian court last month rejected her appeal of her sentence.
Her lawyers said they visited her earlier this week.
“Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment,” her lawyers said in a statement.
The all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medallist was detained in February when customs agents said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
At her trial, Griner admitted to having the canisters in her luggage but testified she packed them inadvertently in her haste to make her flight and had no criminal intent. Her defence team presented written statements saying she had been prescribed cannabis to treat chronic pain.
