Brittney Griner was recently transferred to a penal colony as she began her nine-year sentence in Russia. This was after her appeal was rejected by a Russian court in October. The court upheld the initial nine-year sentence, and it was a huge blow for Griner and her supporters. Even before the appeal, reports were coming out about the brutal conditions of penal colonies in the country. Multiple former prisoners came out and shared their awful experiences.

Many reports suggested that the prisoners would be forced to do 16 hours of hard labor. Now, more details about the labor facility have come out. As per reports, Griner and the other 800 women prisoners in the IK-2 prison are not allowed to lie or sit on their beds from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The brutal conditions of the penal colony

The report also revealed other horrifying conditions of the penal colony. The women in the facility live in barracks of around 80 to 100 people crowded with bunk beds. Also, there are concerns about the well-being of Brittney Griner with a lack of proper nutrition.

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As per reports, the food provided is usually rotten. Furthermore, people are worried about her safety as homophobia and violence is believed to be prevalent in the penal colonies. Griner’s family and friends are worried she could be an easy target given her sexuality and nationality.

Women face punishment if they don’t put in enough effort, don’t complete their assigned tasks, or refuse to work. Food deprivation, solitary confinement, and, in some cases, beatings by fellow inmates are all possible forms of punishment.

Brittney Griner prisoner swap hopes

A few weeks back there was an encouraging report for Brittney Griner, her family, and her supporters. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said a prisoner swap between Russia and United States could one day become a reality. Also, there were suggestions the prisoner swap could be done before the end of the year bringing the Phoenix Mercury star back home soon. This gave high hopes to her fans.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently stated Moscow is not planning to engage with the U.S. for a prisoner swap before the end of the year. This has cast huge doubts about Griner returning to the country before 2023.

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This also extends her stay in the penal colony under brutal conditions. Even though many celebrities have voiced their support for Griner, there has not been any improvement in her situation. Nevertheless, fans would now be hopeful that the prisoner swap talk between the countries would at least start as the new year dawns.