The NBA star was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison after customs agents found marijuana in her luggage.
If her conviction is not overturned and she is not included in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia, the eight-time WNBA All-Star will serve her sentence at a Penal Colony.
Russian Penal colonies are prison labor camps that are known as disease incubators and have a history of human rights abuses.
Here's what we know about the Russian Penal Colonies.
One of the best basketball players on the planet isBrittney.
An eight-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, two-time defensive player of the year, and a two-time defensive player of the year, the Phoenix Mercury's 6-foot-9 center is also a two-time scoring champion and two-time defensive player of
She won two gold medals in the Olympics.
She takes her talents overseas to supplement her income when she's not playing basketball.
The NBA star's detainment in Russia was caused by low WNBA salaries.
Each year since she graduated from college, she has gone to Russia to compete for the UMMC.
The Russian team is owned by a Putin-aligned billionaire.
The off-season was no exception; in February of this year, when she was on her way to the Ural city, she was stopped at an airport.
Russian customs agents found cannabis oil in the player's luggage, and then arrested her.
He was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison after he was convicted of drug-smuggling.
A Russian court sentenced the basketball player to nine years in prison after she was found guilty of drug charges.
Her legal team has appealed the decision, but it's not likely to grant her freedom or reduce her sentence.
The move to appeal the Russian prison sentence is not likely to free the basketball player.
Unless she is released in a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia, she will most likely spend some time at a Russian colony.
A prisoner exchange involving an ex-US Marine and a notorious Russian arms dealer could be the key to the release of a woman.
The Russian penal colonies are the remnants of the Soviet Union's notorious Gulag system.
There are at least 35 all- women penal colonies in the country.
The source is people.
Each facility has its own reputation and treatment of inmates.
Prison colony No. 14 in Mordovia is brutal.
Inmates there have been accused of living among rats, being forced to watch guards burn kittens alive, and losing their fingers while sewing.
Radio Free Europe is a radio station.
There are disturbing similarities between the penal system and other facilities.
Access to running water and heat in more remote locations is limited by dilapidated infrastructure.
The Centre for Eastern Studies is where this information came from.
Prisoner hygiene isn't always taken care of.
Most prisoners live in close quarters with around 50 other people.
The source is people.
Russian law requires 20 square feet of personal space for each prisoner, but it is not always met in Russian prisons.
The Centre for Eastern Studies is where this information came from.
Penal colonies in Russia are known as incubators for epidemics because of their close proximity to prisoners and lack of basic hygiene.
Tuberculosis, AIDS, and other diseases are very common.
The Centre for Eastern Studies has a puzzle.
Women in the system don't get proper medical care.
There is a source for this.
Forced labor was reintroduced by the Russian government.
The source of the news is VOA.
The majority of women cook, clean, or sew.
Past inmates in all-female Russian penal colonies have said that mandatory overtime work is actually compulsory, with guards threatening retribution if they don't sign on to work extra.
There is a source for this.
Some women are forced to work 16 or 17 hours a day with little or no sleep.
There is a source for this.
At these facilities, torture isn't uncommon.
The Centre for Eastern Studies is where this information came from.
According to the Centre for Eastern Studies, abuse is practiced on a mass scale.
If she ends up going to a penal colony, it's possible that she won't have a harrowing experience.
Ivan Melnikov, the vice president of the Russian Department of the International Human Rights Defense Committee, told People that she may be allowed to coach basketball in the daytime.
The source is people.
Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev were both soccer players and served time in one of the colonies.
The source is people.
Inmates are given half an hour to two hours a day to chat with each other, read a book, write letters, play sports, and call friends and family, according to Melnikov.
The source is people.
Even though she has a chance at some semblance of normal inside the penal colony, her experience there will be difficult.
She and her supporters can only hope that a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia takes place.
A convicted arms trafficker was offered in exchange for the release of two Americans.
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