Joe Biden does not forget Brittney Griner. In the aftermath of the mid-term elections, the American president intends to raise “more seriously” the question of an exchange of prisoners with Vladimir Putin in order to free the American basketball player. It is held in Russia.
Griner’s lawyers say the 32-year-old sportswoman, sentenced to nine years in prison, is being transferred to an unidentified penal colony, an incommunicado journey that could drag on forever.
Optimistic Biden
Brittney Griner was convicted in August of “drug trafficking”. His supporters denounce an unfounded and political decision, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine, with a view to a possible exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Washington.
“My hope is that now that the election is over, Mr. Putin will be able to talk to us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” the US president said at a press conference. after the midterm elections in the United States. “My intention is to bring her home,” added Joe Biden, saying he was “optimistic” that there is a “willingness to negotiate more specifically with us”.
In a statement, Brittney Griner’s lawyers said she left her remand center near Moscow on November 4 and was now “on her way to a penal colony.”
A transfer of several days, several weeks
In Russia, this type of transfer, often to isolated sites, can take several days, sometimes even weeks. Generally, the prisoners travel in special trains through the huge Russian territory, with stops in different prisons, without the possibility of communicating.
Relatives of detainees are most often not informed of the place of detention until they have arrived at their final destination. This is also the case of Ms. Griner’s lawyers who have “no information on her exact whereabouts”.
Joe Biden is demanding that Moscow “improve the treatment and conditions that she may be forced to undergo” in this colony, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre reacted earlier.
Sentenced to nine years in prison
Brittney Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport in possession of a vaporizer containing cannabis-based liquid.
She had admitted the facts but claimed to have brought the substance inadvertently, while she uses it legally in the United States as a painkiller. The Russian court showed him no leniency, sentencing the sportswoman in August to nine years in prison for “drug trafficking”.
During the trial, her team from the Russian city of Yekaterinburg pleaded for the player. Without success. And on October 25, his appeal was rejected, paving the way for his transfer to a penal colony.
Exchange of prisoners?
The case of this woman took on a geopolitical dimension in the context of the crisis between Moscow and Washington linked to the offensive in Ukraine. Other American citizens are incarcerated in Russia and the United States also wants to secure their release.
Washington has repeatedly said it has made a “significant offer” to Russia for the release of the sportswoman and another American detainee, former soldier Paul Whelan.
Mr. Whelan’s family regularly denounces his conditions of detention in a colony in the Russian region of Mordovia. She claims he is being deliberately deprived of sleep and cannot get the medical attention he needs. Cases of torture and mass rape in the Russian penal colonies, inherited from the Soviet concentration camp system, are regularly reported.
Griner’s health potentially at risk
“If the Kremlin decides not to torture (Griner) and gives her VIP conditions, then she will have the right to have a separate diet, to play sports, to keep in shape,” said Vladimir Ossetchkine, responsible for of the NGO Gulagu.net, which specializes in defending the rights of detainees in Russia. “But if the prison administration is ordered to put pressure on her, her life and health will be in danger,” he continued.
According to Russian diplomatic sources, a possible prisoner exchange could concern Brittney Griner and a Russian arms trafficker detained in the United States, Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. Russians and Americans have agreed in the past on several exchanges of prisoners.