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Brittney Griner sent to Russian penal colony to serve sentence
A penal colony is a common type of Russian prison where detainees work for minimal pay
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
MOSCOW — American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession, her legal team said Wednesday.
A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Her arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and the politically charged case could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “As we have said before, the U.S. Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
Griner’s legal team said she left a detention centre outside Moscow on Nov. 4 for a penal colony — as prisons in Russia are commonly known. The move was expected since she lost her appeal.
Such transfers can take days or even weeks, during which time lawyers and loved ones usually don’t have contact with the prisoner. Even after she arrives, access to Griner may be difficult since many penal colonies are in remote parts of Russia.
Her lawyers said Wednesday that they did not know exactly where she was or where she would end up — but that they expected to be notified when she reached her final destination.
In a statement stressing the work being done to secure Griner’s release, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that Russian authorities give the embassy regular access to Griner, as they are required to do. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow visited Griner last week.
A senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case, said the Russians had not notified American diplomats of Griner’s transfer ahead of time and had not yet responded to queries from the American embassy about either her current whereabouts or ultimate destination.
In many penal colonies, prisoners work for minimal pay, and dissidents and other countries have denounced the conditions of those held. Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike to protest his treatment, including officials’ refusal to give him the right medicines and to allow his doctor to visit him behind bars.
He also protested the hourly checks a guard makes on him at night, saying they amount to sleep deprivation torture.
Griner, 32, who was detained while returning to play for a Russian team during the WNBA’s offseason, has admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage. But she testified 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.
The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Paul Whelan — an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage — for Viktor Bout. Bout is a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
torontosun.com
A penal colony is a common type of Russian prison where detainees work for minimal pay
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
MOSCOW — American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession, her legal team said Wednesday.
A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Her arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and the politically charged case could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “As we have said before, the U.S. Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
Griner’s legal team said she left a detention centre outside Moscow on Nov. 4 for a penal colony — as prisons in Russia are commonly known. The move was expected since she lost her appeal.
Such transfers can take days or even weeks, during which time lawyers and loved ones usually don’t have contact with the prisoner. Even after she arrives, access to Griner may be difficult since many penal colonies are in remote parts of Russia.
Her lawyers said Wednesday that they did not know exactly where she was or where she would end up — but that they expected to be notified when she reached her final destination.
In a statement stressing the work being done to secure Griner’s release, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that Russian authorities give the embassy regular access to Griner, as they are required to do. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow visited Griner last week.
A senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case, said the Russians had not notified American diplomats of Griner’s transfer ahead of time and had not yet responded to queries from the American embassy about either her current whereabouts or ultimate destination.
In many penal colonies, prisoners work for minimal pay, and dissidents and other countries have denounced the conditions of those held. Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike to protest his treatment, including officials’ refusal to give him the right medicines and to allow his doctor to visit him behind bars.
He also protested the hourly checks a guard makes on him at night, saying they amount to sleep deprivation torture.
Griner, 32, who was detained while returning to play for a Russian team during the WNBA’s offseason, has admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage. But she testified 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.
The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Paul Whelan — an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage — for Viktor Bout. Bout is a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
Brittney Griner sent to Russian penal colony to serve sentence
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession.
Russian-installed official Kirill Stremousov in Ukraine's Kherson region dies in car crash
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
One of Russia’s most prominent officials in Ukraine was killed in a car crash on Wednesday, a further blow to Moscow in the southern Kherson region amid an impending withdrawal of Russian forces.
The death of Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed local administration, was confirmed by his boss Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-backed acting governor of Kherson.
Stremousov went from being an obscure blogger and local politician before the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 to become the number two figure in what Ukraine says is the illegal occupation of Kherson which it plans to overturn by force.
A Russian-installed official said the accident happened after the driver of Stremousov’s vehicle tried to avoid hitting a truck that had carried out a dangerous manoeuvre.
Vladimir Rogov, from the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, wrote on Telegram that the truck driver was to blame.
Russia’s RIA news agency published a video of Stremousov’s destroyed vehicle, which was in several parts. Blood stains could be seen on the road.
Stremousov was a highly visible face on social media, pumping out pro-Moscow statements. In the most recent, hours before his death, he denounced what he called Ukrainian “Nazis” and said the Russian military was in “full control” of the situation in the south.
Ukraine viewed him as a collaborator and a traitor.
Stremousov’s death deepened the sense of disarray surrounding the defence of Kherson. Hours after the fatal crash, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from the occupied Ukrainian city.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
One of Russia’s most prominent officials in Ukraine was killed in a car crash on Wednesday, a further blow to Moscow in the southern Kherson region amid an impending withdrawal of Russian forces.
The death of Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed local administration, was confirmed by his boss Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-backed acting governor of Kherson.
Stremousov went from being an obscure blogger and local politician before the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 to become the number two figure in what Ukraine says is the illegal occupation of Kherson which it plans to overturn by force.
A Russian-installed official said the accident happened after the driver of Stremousov’s vehicle tried to avoid hitting a truck that had carried out a dangerous manoeuvre.
Vladimir Rogov, from the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, wrote on Telegram that the truck driver was to blame.
Russia’s RIA news agency published a video of Stremousov’s destroyed vehicle, which was in several parts. Blood stains could be seen on the road.
Stremousov was a highly visible face on social media, pumping out pro-Moscow statements. In the most recent, hours before his death, he denounced what he called Ukrainian “Nazis” and said the Russian military was in “full control” of the situation in the south.
Ukraine viewed him as a collaborator and a traitor.
Stremousov’s death deepened the sense of disarray surrounding the defence of Kherson. Hours after the fatal crash, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from the occupied Ukrainian city.
Russian-installed official Kirill Stremousov in Ukraine's Kherson region dies in car crash
One of Russia's most prominent officials in Ukraine was killed in a car crash on Wednesday.
she would be lucky if she only spent 9 years in the penal colony.Brittney Griner sent to Russian penal colony to serve sentence
A penal colony is a common type of Russian prison where detainees work for minimal pay
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
MOSCOW — American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession, her legal team said Wednesday.
A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star centre with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Her arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and the politically charged case could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “As we have said before, the U.S. Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
Griner’s legal team said she left a detention centre outside Moscow on Nov. 4 for a penal colony — as prisons in Russia are commonly known. The move was expected since she lost her appeal.
Such transfers can take days or even weeks, during which time lawyers and loved ones usually don’t have contact with the prisoner. Even after she arrives, access to Griner may be difficult since many penal colonies are in remote parts of Russia.
Her lawyers said Wednesday that they did not know exactly where she was or where she would end up — but that they expected to be notified when she reached her final destination.
In a statement stressing the work being done to secure Griner’s release, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that Russian authorities give the embassy regular access to Griner, as they are required to do. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow visited Griner last week.
A senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case, said the Russians had not notified American diplomats of Griner’s transfer ahead of time and had not yet responded to queries from the American embassy about either her current whereabouts or ultimate destination.
In many penal colonies, prisoners work for minimal pay, and dissidents and other countries have denounced the conditions of those held. Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike to protest his treatment, including officials’ refusal to give him the right medicines and to allow his doctor to visit him behind bars.
He also protested the hourly checks a guard makes on him at night, saying they amount to sleep deprivation torture.
Griner, 32, who was detained while returning to play for a Russian team during the WNBA’s offseason, has admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage. But she testified 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.
The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Paul Whelan — an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage — for Viktor Bout. Bout is a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”
Brittney Griner sent to Russian penal colony to serve sentence
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession.
And the sounds of the battle rang
Through the streets of the old East Side
'Til the last of the hoodlum gang
Had surrendered up or died
--Callander/Murray, The Night Chicago Died
Kherson rejoices together with all of Ukraine
Ukraine Now
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