conflict in ukraine
conflict in ukraine
The recent ominous turn for Russia from Putin’s Ukraine conflict, with the announced withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson on Wednesday, certainly does not help the cause of Brittney Griner, a political prisoner who the Putin regime is seen as a heavy card to be played off the battlefield🇧🇷 The plight of the 32-year-old American champion detained last February at the Moscow airport – just before the start of the conflict – because she was found with cannabis cartridges to vape and then sentenced to 9 years in prison for drug traffickinghas been at a total stalemate for months, despite relentless pressure from public opinion.
The US government’s efforts to bring home basketball player Phoenix Mercury, 2014 WNBA title winner and two-time Olympic and world champion with the United States, have so far met the wall erected by his Russian counterpart. It was speculated a prisoner exchange at the highest levelwith the involvement of Viktor Bout, an arms dealer known as the “death dealer” and life inmate in the US, but all attempts so far have failed🇧🇷 And the latest news adds anguish to an already dramatic scenario.
In fact, Griner was transferred in the last hours from a Russian prison to a penal colony, which is a structure where prisoners are forced to do hard labor.🇧🇷 Yesterday, the 32-year-old Texan legal team said the move began last week and the basketball player was on her way to a penal colony, but added that she was not told where she is currently or where she is. being moved. The US embassy is usually informed of where international prisoners of US nationality are being held. But Griner’s legal team believes they may not be notified for two weeks in this case.
The penal colonies are the ‘descendants’ of the gulags, i.e. the Soviet-era labor camps🇧🇷 Inside, the inmates are housed in barracks and carry out work. Criminal colonies are also a source of income, with some factories producing items such as food or clothing, while other prisoners are engaged in construction work. In these hours the American media is describing the tremendous environment in which the champion will see her life plummet and there are mind-boggling details to be in at the beginning of the third millennium.
Griner will likely be imprisoned in one of 35 all-female penal colonies in Russia. Each facility varies in terms of reputation and treatment of prisoners based on its geographic location and command structure. Some places of detention, such as prison colony No. 14 in Mordovia are notoriously brutal. Inmates are said to live among rats and lose their fingers while working 17 hours a day at sewing machines. Of course, not all structures are so tough, but there are several disturbing commonalities across the Russian penal system. It is known that some dilapidated infrastructure limits access to piped water and heating, especially in the most remote locations of the country, with imaginable consequences in terms of personal hygiene.🇧🇷
Penal colonies are then overcrowded, with most prisoners living in confined spaces with dozens of other people. Russian law requires each prisoner to have 1.85 square meters of personal space, but this standard – which does not meet the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights – is often not met in Russian facilities.🇧🇷 Between the proximity of prisoners and the lack of mandatory hygiene, penal colonies in Russia are known as epidemic incubators: AIDS, tuberculosis, covid and other infectious diseases are rampant. And women in particular are often denied medical treatment altogether.
The Russian government reintroduced forced labor in 2016 and most women cook, clean or sew. But if Griner were “Sent to a colony with a merciful governor“- Ivan Melnikov, deputy chairman of the Russian department of the International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, told People – that it could be authorized”teach basketball during the day instead of being a seamstress🇧🇷 Wherever you look and even in the least distressing scenario possible, it’s a waking nightmare.🇧🇷 The champion’s wife, Cherelle, has publicly expressed concern over the basketball player’s apparent deteriorating mental health after having an extremely “disturbing” conversation with her on the phone. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time while writing a page in the history books: that was Brittney Griner’s downfall.
Source: Fan Page IT
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
