U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been moved from a detention center outside of Moscow to a Russian penal colony to begin serving out her nine-year sentence on drug smuggling charges, NPR reported.
A statement from the out lesbian athlete’s legal team stated the attorneys do not have information on Griner’s “exact current location or her final destination.” The statement also said that, in accordance with “standard Russian procedure,” the lawyers anticipate Russian authorities will notify then and the U.S. embassy of Griner’s whereabouts upon arrival at her destination.
Russian prison transfers can take several weeks.
The transfer move follows a Russian appeals court decision that upheld Griner’s conviction on drug smuggling charges last month.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.