American basketball star Brittney Griner was moved to a Russian penal colony, notorious for harsh circumstances and compelled labour.
US basketball participant Brittney Griner has been moved to a penal colony in Russia to serve her nine-year sentence for drug possession after a court docket rejected her attraction.
The 2-time Olympic gold medallist was arrested at Moscow’s airport for having banned vape cartridges containing hashish oil on February 17, every week earlier than Russia’s warfare in Ukraine.
The White Home has known as her conviction “one other sham judicial continuing” and put ahead “a sequence of proposals” to Russia for Griner’s launch.
Right here’s a take a look at what occurs inside these prisons:
What’s a penal colony?
Penal colonies in Russia are notorious for his or her harsh residing circumstances and brutality. Prisoners are positioned in barracks relatively than particular person cells, the place they’re compelled to carry out every day work.
Colonies even have more durable safety measures and extra restrictions on motion.
Prisoners in penal colonies are divided into 4 classes based mostly on the severity of the crime dedicated. Griner was sentenced to a low-security colony.
What are the circumstances?
There are about 700 penal colonies in Russia and almost half 1,000,000 prisoners, making it the most typical imprisonment establishment.
In response to rights group Amnesty Worldwide, circumstances in colonies and prisons are “among the many worst in Europe”. The European Court docket of Human Rights checked out 64 instances towards Russia for its degrading or inhumane therapy of prisoners in 2016 alone.
The amenities are situated in distant areas, removed from cities, making it troublesome for household or human rights staff to go to. This type of isolation is believed to be a part of the punishment of pseudo-exile.
Girls usually tend to be despatched 1000’s of kilometres away as there are solely 46 penal colonies for females.
The place is Griner going?
Griner’s legal professionals stated they have no idea her last vacation spot however in step with Russian procedures, they and the US embassy ought to be knowledgeable upon her arrival. It could possibly take as much as two weeks to obtain the notification.
Jailed opposition chief Alexey Navalny’s well being has drastically deteriorated throughout his time in a penal colony.
“I take into account the deterioration of my well being to be the direct consequence of the actions and inaction of staff of the Federal Penitentiary Service intentionally geared toward denying me correct medical care and undermining my well being,” he wrote.
He highlighted “sleep deprivation torture” as he was woken up by a guard each hour throughout the evening, and stated he additionally didn’t obtain medical therapy for acute again and leg ache.
Historical past of Russian penal colonies
Penal colonies originated from the Soviet Union’s work camps referred to as gulags however even date again to at the least the 18th century.
Prisoners had been despatched to distant areas of Russia to endure harsh residing, working and climate circumstances, together with isolation from civilisation.
An estimated 18 million individuals had been sentenced to gulags between 1929 and 1953, till the dying of Soviet chief Joseph Stalin. About 1.6 million died in work camps.