Life inside the Russian penal colony where Brittney Griner is serving nine years | USA TODAY

Brittney Griner, a U.S. basketball star, is serving her sentence at the IK-2 penal colony in Mordovia, about 350 miles southeast of Moscow.

RELATED: Brittney Griner’s appeal rejected by Moscow Regional Court judge https://bit.ly/3GZec8z

In August, the two-time Olympian and perennial WNBA All-Star was sentenced to nine years after pleading guilty to carrying hash oil in her luggage as she returned to Moscow to play with her Russian professional team. Griner, like many WNBA players, supplements her income by playing pro overseas during the WNBA’s offseason. She has played in Russia for nine years.

Griner lost her appeal and began transfer to the penal colony. During her transport, Griner’s legal team in Russia, as well as her U.S.-based agency, said they were not informed of her whereabouts. The Biden Administration — which has classified Griner as wrongfully detained and is trying to negotiate for her release — also was unaware of where Griner was.

In a statement, Griner’s agent Lindsay Colas said of Griner, "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." Another wrongfully detained American, Paul Whelan, is also serving time in a penal colony in the Mordovia area. Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018, is serving a 16-year sentence after being found guilty of espionage, a charge he and his family have repeatedly denied.

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