Jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner has been moved to a penal colony in Russia, her legal team said.
it happened after a russian court An appeal against her nine-year prison sentence was dismissed Possession of drugs last month.
“Britney was transferred from Ixa’s detention center on November 4. She is now on her way to exile,” said a statement from her legal team.
“We do not have any information on her exact current location or final destination.”
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17 when she returned to Russia to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg during the US WNBA offseason.
She was convicted on August 4 Police said they found vaping cans containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
The U.S. government said Greener, 32, was unlawfully detained.
It offered her in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving 25 years in the United States.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre issued a statement saying: “Every minute Britney Greenner Having to endure one minute of illegal detention in Russia is too long.
“As the administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the president has directed the administration to persuade her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in exile.
“As we’ve said before, the U.S. government has made a major offer to the Russians to address the current unacceptable and wrongful detention of U.S. citizens.”
Griner, also a center for the WNBA West team Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, said she made an “honest mistake” by bringing cannabis oil into Russia — which is illegal in the country — and no intention to break the law.
Her defense team filed a written statement saying she had taken marijuana to treat her pain.