Brittney Griner Facing Racism & Homophobia As She Works 16-Hour Days In A Russian Prison
Brittney Griner is reportedly facing horrific conditions as she serves her prison sentence in an environment that includes homophobia, racism, and 16-hour work days.
As previously reported, WNBA star Brittney Griner, 32, was transferred to a Female Penal Colony in the Russian region of Mordovia where she will be serving a nine-year sentence for traveling into Russia with vape cartridges containing less than a gram of cannabis oil. According to reports, prisoners in Mordovia are barely treated like humans.
Reportedly, bigotry is common, medical care is nearly nonexistent, and inmates are expected to sew the uniforms for police and guards. It’s also unclear if Griner will get the proper accommodations and receive a bed that will fit her 6-foot-8 frame.
Brittney Griner
On Wednesday (Nov.23) a former inmate of the Russian penal colony, Nadya Tolokonnikova, shared her concerns for Brittney Griner after she famously spent two years in a Russian penal colony on “hooliganism” charges.
In a recent interview, member of the musical group “P*ssy Riot,” Nadya Tolokonnikova said:
“I’m terrified that Brittney Griner was moved to IK-2. It’s one of the harshest colonies — it is literally the harshest colony in the whole Russian prison system.”
Tolokonnikova was candid about the “slave-like conditions” within the 820-woman capacity facility in Yavas. Prisoners are allegedly mandated to perform manual labor; including cooking, cleaning, and sewing — for “up to 17 hours a day” without breaks or days off. Griner and other prisoners are reportedly expected to meet output quotas that are most times unreasonably high. According to Tolokonnikova, If they don’t meet those standards they’ll “be punished,” and that includes daily torture.
However, Griner’s camp has insisted the WNBA star is trying to remain brave, saying in a statement following her move to Mordovia earlier this month that,
“Brittney is doing as well as could be expected..Despite the fact she is alone and now nearing her ninth month in detention separated from her loved ones, she is trying to stay strong.”
As previously reported, Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February after Russian authorities allegedly discovered vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. She pled guilty to the charges but insisted that she had no intention of breaking the law. However, a Russian court ultimately found Brittney guilty of the drug charges back in August and sentenced her to nine years in prison.
Brittney Griner
Sadly, on October 25, Brittney Griner’sappeal was denied, further solidifying the WNBA star’s nine-year prison sentence.
During her appeal hearing, Brittney urged the court to reassess her sentence and apologized for her “mistake.”
“I beg that the court takes in all of the stakes that was overlooked in the first court and reassess my sentence here,”
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have said they’re actively working to get her out and are currently in the process of negotiating a prisoner swap with Russia.While President Joe Biden previously discussed a potential deal to exchange for Griner for a couple of Russian citizens in a prisoner swap, there has seemingly been no progress in the efforts.What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!