Lawyers: Brittney Griner Moved to Russian Penal Colony over 200 Miles Outside Moscow

Brittney Griner's lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, and agent, Lindsay Colas, confirmed Thursday the WNBA star has been relocated to a Russian penal colony in Mordovia, which is approximately 210 miles east of Moscow.

Griner is serving a nine-year sentence after her appeal was denied Oct. 25.

"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 Thursday while also confirming they visited with her this week.

"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," Colas said in a statement. "At this time, we will not be sharing any further details, but want to express our deepest thanks to the Biden Administration, the Richardson Center, and to everyone who has reached out to offer words of encouragement to her."

Griner, who the United States government has classified as "wrongfully detained," was arrested at a Moscow-area airport Feb. 17 after vape cartridges containing hashish oil were found in her luggage.

She pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges in July but said she was prescribed cannabis to treat chronic pain and packed the canisters inadvertently. The appeal of her nine-year sentence was denied.

Frederik Pleitgen, Kylie Atwood, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Rob Picheta of CNN noted the United States State Department said Wednesday it was in touch with Griner's legal team and "strongly protest[s]" the transfer.

CNN cited a human rights report from the State Department, which revealed prisoners in such penal colonies can be subjected to "solitary confinement or punitive stays in psychiatric units."

Prisoners are also forced into labor at times, although it depends on the specific penal colony.

"Built during the Soviet Union, most of the colonies have been likened to Soviet-era gulags; prison camps that expanded across the region during Josef Stalin’s rule in the mid-20th century," Pleitgen, Atwood, McLaughlin and Picheta wrote.