Brittney Griner begins serving sentence in Russian penal colony
WNBA star's lawyers say she is 'trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment'
WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony, her lawyers and agent said Thursday.
Griner was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, about 350 kilometres 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.
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.
The Biden administration has been trying for months to negotiate the release of Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan. Whelan was also sent to a penal colony in Mordovia after being convicted of espionage-related charges in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
WATCH | Court rejects Griner's sentencing appeal:
