The Brittney Griner story is not even a year old, and yet it has the potential to last nearly a full decade before coming to a close. Griner’s recently imposed nine-year sentence will feel like an eternity as reports are coming out that her placement in Russia’s IK-2 Mordovia means she could be subjected to horrendous work conditions and torture if that work is not completed.
OutKick is now reporting that Griner’s sentence for possessing cannabis includes serving out her time in a prison known for, in addition to strenuous workloads, feeding inmates food with “zero nutritional value.” What’s more, one former inmate spoke out about the abuse faced by prisoners in the system.
Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova, who did prison time in Russia for speaking out against the regime, told MSNBC that torture is common at IK-2 Mordovia, and that “it is literally the harshest [penal] colony in the whole Russian prison system.”
Tolokonnikova further added inmates face “daily torture” if they don’t get enough work done.
Brittney Griner was transported to IK-2 Mordovia, the WORST penal colony in Russia.
– 16 hours work days
– prisoners sew uniforms for the Russian army and police & getting injured bc of the outdated equipment
– beatings x torture are common
– medical care practically not exist pic.twitter.com/GvXjAOFPAf— 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙💦 (@pussyrrriot) November 22, 2022
The Twitter account needed several consecutive tweets to share the absolutely brutal conditions facing Griner and others.
– 16 hours work days
– prisoners sew uniforms for the Russian army and police & getting injured bc of the outdated equipment
– beatings x torture are common
– medical care practically not exist
– when not working in sweatshops, prisoners are subjected to heavy physical labor like digging trenches, breaking up frozen coal or manually sawing giant logs
– if a prisoner refuses to work, they’re sent to a solitary confinement, a freezing cold tiny cell
– prisoners share barracks with 100 other people, with only 3-5 toilets for all, and no hot water
– shower (and hot water) once a week
As much grief as Griner received over her initial detainment, arrest, and subsequent jailing, it seems that the sentiment is slowly changing. While our disdain toward her anti-American views are well documented, it is quite another thing to exist solely as a political prisoner as a result of Joe Biden’s weak standing against Vladimir Putin.
Make no mistake, Griner could have done better a lot of different times. She could have recognized America for the great, albeit flawed country, that it is without ingesting toxic narratives about its anti-black, anti-LGBT elements. Indeed, if she only looked at how she – a black and gay athlete – was making more money and living a far more comfortable life than nearly every black and gay women in the history of the planet, her humility and gratitude would have endeared her to more people. Moreover, and relatedly, if she didn’t walk around with a sense of impermeable entitlement she might have avoided making silly decisions in foreign countries.
I get it. I hopped on the bandwagon and wished whatever ill befell her. She might not deserve a decade in prison, but sometimes life is the best teacher. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. That sort of thing.
But it’s also inescapable to view her as a human being tragically stuck between geopolitical nonsense and a feckless American administration. Whatever her personal views, does anyone doubt Donald Trump would have gotten her home by now?
Instead, she likely voted for Joe Biden and is now subsequently trapped abroad as a result of the combined forces of her own delusions and failed recognition of reality.
I pity Griner. I am not holding my breath that she will come to view America as the beacon on the hill; rather, she will likely be bitter and jaded from her time overseas. Still, nine years for what Americans typically view as a petty drug offense (and what more libertarian-minded folks see as a harmless non-offense altogether) is extreme. Griner was not hurting anyone but herself.
Complicating this matter is that a non-famous American being trapped would never have made the news at all and it is just as likely a citizen would be enduring the same fate without any press. The anonymous American has no less worth than the nominally-famous Griner, and her celebrity alone is not a valid reason for rescuing her.
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