FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 4, 2022. Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony, her lawyers and agent said Thursday, Nov. 17. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Brittney Griner
WASHINGTON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony. That’s according to statements from her lawyers and agent on Thursday. Her lawyers say they visited her last week at a penal colony in Mordovia, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Moscow. They say, “Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment.” The Biden administration has been trying for months to negotiate the release of Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan.
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