Brittney Griner, a woke WNBA star, is in worse shape. She’s been held in Russia since February on charges of drug smuggling and is now being transferred to a “forced labor camp” with potentially terrible conditions. The anthem protester will one day return to the United States, hopefully with a new appreciation of the country she hated.
Moscow police arrested Griner in February as she tried to board a plane carrying vape cartridges containing marijuana. Griner was convicted and sentenced to nine-years imprisonment. She has exhausted all appeals. CNN reported this morning that the procedure of sending a person to a penal prison colony is done in secret in Russia. Lawyers and relatives are often unaware of where a prisoner is going for several days.
Russia has over 800 penal colonies. According to the Centre for Eastern Studies in Poland, prisoners live in barracks and are often forced into labor. This is not something you would wish on your worst enemies. CNN reports that many of these camps date back to Soviet Union and can be compared to Soviet-era Gulags.
Transporting prisoners to overcrowded camps is considered dangerous. Long trips are made by prisoners in cramped, windowless train cars. According to a former labor camp inmate, torture and other forms abuse are common once inside the camp. He was also arrested for protesting. CNN was informed by the man that “from the very first minute you are here, you are subject to mental and moral pressure.” To ensure that prisoners follow the strict rules, video cameras are placed “everywhere”.
The former inmate also stated that prisoners are required to be up between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., cannot sit down, and are not allowed to speak to other convicts. A total of 60 men were confined to a small area with iron bunk beds. Police uniforms and clothes are made by prisoners. Eighty women lived in a single room with three toilets.
Most people end up in camps because of murder convictions. It is difficult to maintain hygiene, there are frequent epidemics and AIDS is a major concern.
Griner and her family will not know the location of Griner’s camp, and communication between them will be impossible.
The U.S. government failed to reach a prisoner swap deal with Russia to bring Griner home.
This would be the home for the brave and the country of the free, where Griner was able to protest the U.S flag and national anthem freely without fear of being imprisoned as a dissident. Russians who criticize their government are also subject to this. Griner enjoyed the freedom of the USA, but she demanded that the WNBA stop using the Star-Spangled Banner before it played its games.
Griner’s conditions may not be too harsh, and she will be able to withstand the horrors of a labor camp. Upon her return home, she will realize how fortunate she was.
