U.S. Secretary of State Issues Statement After Brittney Griner’s Transfer

Brittney Griner’s legal team said the WNBA star has been moved to a penal colony in Russia after the appeal of her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession was rejected.

The move came Nov. 4, and her team doesn’t have any information “on her exact current location or her final destination,” the statement from her legal team read.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement Wednesday reiterating that the nation is working to secure Griner’s release and calling the move to a penal colony another “injustice” committed against Griner by the Russian state.

“Following a sham trial and the unjust sentencing of Brittney Griner, Moscow is transferring her from a prison in Moscow to a remote penal colony,” Blinken said. “It is another injustice layered on her ongoing unjust and wrongful detention.

“As we work to secure Brittney Griner’s release, we expect Russian authorities to provide our Embassy officials with regular access to all U.S. citizens detained in Russia, including Brittney, as is their obligation. Ensuring the health and welfare of U.S. citizen detainees in Russia is a priority, and we will continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for them all.”

Blinken also made mention of Paul Whelan, another American being held in Russia, saying that the state department “will not relent until they are reunited with their loved ones.”

Griner is serving a nine-year sentence after pleading guilty to drug possession after she was detained at a Moscow airport when canisters containing cannabis oil were seized from her bag. The WNBA star said the canisters wound up in her luggage due to hasty packing and she had no criminal intent to transport illegal substances.  

The U.S. and Russia continue to discuss a prisoner swap, per reports, in which Griner and Whelan—an American who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for alleged espionage—would be exchanged for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in America.

“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home,” Griner said in a statement on her birthday last month. “All the support and love are definitely helping me.”