Los Angeles Times

Brittney Griner facing 'terrible' life at remote penal colony in Russia

This picture, taken on November 19, 2022, shows the entrance of the penalty colony IK-2in the town of Yavas in Mordovia, central Russia.- US' Women's National Basketball Association basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, began serving her sentence at IK-2.

The inmates at IK-2 penal colony rise at 6 a.m. each day for a breakfast of milk porridge, bread and tea. Soon they leave their barracks at this aging facility about 300 miles southeast of Moscow, in the isolated republic of Mordovia.

Long days are spent in forced labor, working at sewing machines, with only a short break for lunch. By nightfall, prisoners are fed dinner and allowed an hour or less of free time before going to sleep in dormitories crowded with scores of bunk beds. The routine reportedly can stretch for weeks on end with no days off.

It is unclear if one of the newest arrivals — American basketball star — will take part in this strict

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