Brittney Griner was moved over 200 miles outside Moscow, lawyers say

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The lawyers and agent for the basketball player said that she was moved to a penal colony in Mordovia to serve her sentence.

The lawyers for the basketball player said last week that she was going to be transferred to a Russian penal colony but they didn't know where she was.

"Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adjusts to a new environment," her lawyers said, noting that they had visited with her earlier this week.

Lindsay Colas said that the center was trying to stay strong.

Colas said that she is trying to stay strong despite the fact that she is alone and has been separated from her family for nine months. We want to express our deepest thanks to the Biden Administration, the Richardson Center, and to everyone who has reached out to offer words of encouragement to her, but we will not be sharing any further details.

After the appeal of her conviction was denied, she was going to be moved to a penal colony. The Moscow jail where she has been held has harsher conditions than the Russian colonies.

She was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for trying to enter Russia with drugs in her possession. At her trial, she admitted to having the canisters in her luggage but said she accidentally packed them in her haste to make her flight. She was prescribed cannabis to treat chronic pain, according to her defense team.

She lost her appeal last month, after she was sentenced to nine years.

The US declared in May that she was being wrongly held and called her trial. The Biden administration has been trying for months to negotiate the release of two Americans imprisoned in Russia, one of which is a corporate security executive. After being convicted of espionage-related charges in 2020, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

President Joe Biden told reporters last week that he hopes Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of Griner now that the elections are over.

"My hope is that now that the election is over, Mr. Putin will be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange."

This report used information from The Associated Press and T.J.Quinn.