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   From: zinn@reno.us   
      
   WNBA star Brittney Griner will face 16-hour work days and possible abuse   
   as she serves her nine-year sentence for drug smuggling in one of Russia's   
   harshest penal colonies, according to TMZ Sports.   
      
   After Griner was sentenced in October, Russian officials transferred the   
   athlete to the Mordovia region's IK-2 female penal colony, originally   
   built in the 1930s as part of the Stalin-era gulag system. While the   
   prison has improved since then, it is still characterized by brutality and   
   harsh conditions.   
      
   "Prisons in Mordovia are notoriously terrible, even by Russian standards.   
   The prisons there are known for the harsh regimes and human rights   
   violations," Olga Zeveleva, a sociologist at the University of Helsinki   
   who specializes in Russian prison conditions, told the Guardian.   
      
   President Joe Biden has promised to continue negotiating a prisoner swap   
   with Russia, offering convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner   
   and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.   
      
   "My intention is to get [Griner] home," Biden said a day after the midterm   
   elections. "We’ve had a number of discussions so far, and I’m hopeful that   
   now that our election is over, there’s a willingness to negotiate more   
   specifically with us." Biden has yet to reach an agreement with Russian   
   president Vladimir Putin.   
      
   Some analysts hope Griner's high-profile status will shield her from   
   abuse, Zeveleva said, but others fear Russia's war with Ukraine and the   
   United States' support for Ukraine could make life worse for Griner.   
      
   "In times of war, the rules might be different. … In any case, she won’t   
   have a pleasant time there," Zeveleva said.   
      
   Published under: Biden Administration, Prison, Russia   
      
   https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/brittney-griner-faces-16-hour-work-   
   days-in-russian-gulag/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)