Brittney Griner fears facing inhumane treatment at Russia’s penal colonies, where abuse is common, disease is rampant, and labor is forced

Brittney Griner is escorted from the court room following her Russian trial. Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters The WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to nine years in Russian prison after customs agents found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February. Griner’s team has appealed the decision, but if she’s not included in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia, the WNBA All-Star will likely serve her sentence at a penal colony.

As her detention has dragged on, Griner has grown increasingly fearful of the “miserable or inhumane conditions” she could face if and when her appeal is denied, her lawyer told The New York Times. Here’s what we know about Russian penal colonies and what Griner’s experience could look like. Brittney Griner is one of the most accomplished basketball players on the planet.

REUTERS/Brian SnyderA 6-foot-9 superstar for the Phoenix Mercury, Griner is an eight-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time scoring champion, a two-time defensive player of the year, and a WNBA champion. AP Photo/Rick ScuteriShe’s also won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA. Brittney Griner.

AP Photo/Eric GayWhen she’s not competing in the WNBA or for Team USA, Griner takes her talents overseas to supplement her income. REUTERS/Murad SezerHow low WNBA salaries led to an American basketball superstar’s detainment in RussiaEach year since 2014 — just her second out of college — Griner has headed to Russia to compete for the European powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg. BSR Agency/Getty ImagesBrittney Griner’s Russian team — owned by a Putin-aligned oligarch — is a hot spot for WNBA superstarsThe 2021-22 WNBA off-season was no exception; Griner was on her way to Ekaterinburg, in the Ural region, in February when she was stopped at a Moscow airport.

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/PoolRussian customs agents found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in the WNBA star’s luggage and subsequently detained her. Dmitry Serebryakov/AP PhotoNearly six months later, Griner was convicted of drug smuggling “with criminal intent” and sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. Griner.

AP Photo/Alexander ZemlianichenkoBrittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison after guilty verdict on drug chargesHer legal team subsequently appealed the decision, but the move is unlikely to free her or even reduce her sentence. Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/ReutersBrittney Griner appealed her 9-year Russian prison sentence, but the move is unlikely to free the WNBA starUnless she’s released in a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia, Griner will almost certainly spend some time at a Russian penal colony. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERSBrittney Griner’s freedom could hinge on an unorthodox prisoner exchange involving an ex-US Marine and a notorious Russian arms dealerRussian penal colonies are prison-labor camps that are essentially the remnants of the Soviet Union’s infamous Gulag system.

REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinGriner will likely report to one of the 35 or so all-women penal colonies in the country. Griner. APSource: PeopleEach facility varies in its reputation and treatment of inmates based on its geographic location and leadership structure.

AP Photo/Yuri TutovSome, like prison colony No. 14 in Mordovia, are notoriously brutal. MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty ImagesInmates there have been said to live among rats, lose fingers while working 17-hour days at sewing machines, and be forced to watch guards burn kittens alive.

ReutersSource: Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyWhile other facilities aren’t known to be quite as harsh, there are several disturbing commonalities across the penal system. REUTERS/Tatyana MakeyevaDilapidated infrastructure has been known to limit access to running water and heat, especially in more remote locations. AP Photo/Laura MillsSource: Centre for Eastern StudiesPrisoner hygiene is often neglected as a result.

REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinThe colonies are severely overcrowded, with most prisoners living in close quarters with about 50 other people. AP Photo/Yuri TutovSource: PeopleRussian law dictates that each inmate have 20 square feet of personal space, but that standard — which is less than the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights — is often not met in Russian facilities. LIFE.

RU/Handout via REUTERS TVSource: Centre for Eastern StudiesBetween prisoners’ proximity to one another and a lack of basic hygiene, penal colonies in Russia are known as incubators for epidemics. AP Photo/Yuri TutovAIDS, tuberculosis, COVID-19, and other ailments run rampant. Russian Federal Penitentiary Service via APSource: Centre for Eastern Studies, PuzzleAnd women in the system are often denied medical care altogether — never mind proper medical care.

AP Photo/Vitaliy TimkivSource: RiddleDespite criticism that the system resembled Joseph Stalin’s Gulags, the Russian government reintroduced forced labor in 2016. REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinSource: VOA NewsMost women cook, clean, or sew to fulfill this requirement. Vannessa Jimenez/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesPast inmates in all-female Russian penal colonies have said that “voluntary” overtime work is actually mandatory, with guards threatening retribution if they don’t sign on to work extra.

REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinSource: RiddleAs a result, some women are forced to work 16- or 17-hour days, with just four hours of sleep each night. REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinSource: RiddleTorture is not unheard of at these facilities. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovSource: Centre for Eastern StudiesAnd when it comes to abuse, “even official statistics indicate that it is practiced on a mass scale,” according to a commentary piece from the Centre for Eastern Studies.

REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinBut it’s possible Griner will have a less harrowing experience — that is, if she winds up going to a penal colony at all. Dmitry Serebryakov/AP PhotoIf Griner is “sent to a colony with a lenient governor” — as Ivan Melnikov, the vice president of the Russia department of the International Human Rights Defense Committee, told People — she may be allowed “to coach basketball in the daytime rather than being a seamstress. “Brittney Griner (left) shoots over fellow WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson.

AP Photo/Rick ScuteriSource: PeoplePeople also reported that such a move was not unprecedented, as Russian soccer players Aleksandr Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev coached prisoners during their sentences at a colony. Mike Kireev/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesSource: PeopleMelnikov also told People that inmates typically received “half an hour to two hours a day” for free time, with which they can “chat with each other, read a book from the library, write letters home, play sports, play board games, and call friends and family. “Brittney (left) and Cherelle Griner.

Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty ImagesSource: PeopleBut even accounting for Griner’s chance at relative normality inside the penal colony, her experience there will undoubtedly be challenging. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/PoolAnd, as her detention drags on, she’s grown increasingly fearful of the “miserable or inhumane conditions” she could face if and when her appeal is denied, her lawyer told The New York Times.

AP Photo/Alexander ZemlianichenkoSource: The New York TimesGriner’s wife, Cherelle, publicly expressed concerns about Griner’s seemingly deteriorating mental health after they shared an extremely “disturbing conversation” over the phone. David Banks-USA TODAY SportsSource: CBS NewsBut, unfortunately, all Cherelle, the Griner family, and those supporting the superstar can do now is hope that a prisoner swap between the US and Russia comes to fruition. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/ReutersBiden administration reportedly offered convicted arms trafficker in exchange for the release of Brittney Griner and another American detained in RussiaRead the original article on Insider.