Brittney Griner's legal team met with WNBA star at Russian penal colony: 'Doing as well as could be expected'

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Brittney Griner’s legal team confirmed Thursday that the WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has been transferred to a penal colony in the Mordovia region nearly two weeks after her reported transfer. 

Griner met with her legal team earlier this week and is said to be "doing as well as could be expected," Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement. 

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner stands listening to a verdict in a courtroom in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022.  (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

"We can confirm that Brittney began serving her sentence at IK-2 in Mordovia. We visited her early this week. Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment," the statement said. 

WNBA STAR BRITTNEY GRINER TRANSFERRED TO RUSSIAN PENAL COLONY IN MORDOVIA REGION: REPORT

"Considering that this is a very challenging period for her, there will be no further comments from us."

A source told Reuters Thursday that Griner was taken to Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, roughly 300 miles outside Moscow and in the same region where American Paul Whelan is being held. 

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow June 15, 2020.  (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)

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"I can confirm that our Russian legal team has seen Brittney at penal colony IK-2 in Mordovia," Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas, said separately.  

"Despite the fact she is alone and now nearing her ninth month in detention separated from her loved ones, she is trying to stay strong."  

American basketball star Brittney Griner (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

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Washington has yet to receive formal notice of Griner’s transport, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Wednesday. The U.S. embassy has not been able to speak with Griner since her relocation, he added.