Brittney Griner continues to remain a prisoner in Russia. The WNBA star began serving her nine-year sentence at the IK-2 penal colony last month. Griner was moved to the infamous penal colony in Mordovia after her appeal for leniency was denied by a Russian regional court. The remote region of Mordovia is located around 300 miles away from Moscow and is the home to several prison colonies. Recently, an American researcher revealed that Griner is likely to be forced to perform ‘menial’ tasks for the Russian police and military in labor camps.

The US and Russian authorities continue to negotiate a deal to facilitate a potential prisoner exchange program. Meanwhile, Brittney Griner is possibly dealing with some of the harshest conditions imaginable in her penal colony, per former inmates. Recently, an international relations researcher, Juris Pupcenoks made a shocking revelation about the atrocities Griner might face in prison.

Pupcenoks is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Marist College, New York. The reputed researcher received the School of Liberal Arts Faculty of the Year Award in 2020. Pupcenoks recently gave some insight into Russia’s mindset regarding the Brittney Griner saga.

Researcher reveals new perspective about Russia’s motives regarding Griner’s arrest

In a recent interview, Juris Pupcenoks revealed the reason behind Russia’s urgency to send Brittney Griner to a penal colony. Pupcenoks stated, “I think that Russia is very aware of how this plays out in the US court of public opinion. They know how this looks like for America, and that’s why they moved so quickly to get her to this penal colony.”

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The acclaimed researcher felt that Russia was well aware about how the American people would react to Griner’s prolonged detention. In addition, he reckoned that Russia knew how the WNBA star’s situation would look for the US in front of the world.

Therefore, Pupcenoks concluded these to be the reasons as to why Russia was quick about sending Griner to the IK-2 facility. 

Brittney Griner is likely to perform menial tasks in labor camps

Pupcenoks further stated that Russia was trying to add an ‘insult to injury’. The Kremlin intended BG to perform the menial tasks of sewing uniforms for the Russian police and the military.

To put it in Pupcenoks’ words, “So here’s a high-level American, wrongfully accused and prosecuted and then sent to a penal colony where she would be sewing uniforms for predominantly Russian military in Ukraine.”

Therefore, the Marist College professor also saw the move as a powerplay from Russia to undermine US influence in the free world. He also reiterated that Brittney Griner was being ‘wrongfully detained’ in Russia.

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Do you agree with Pupcenoks’ hypothesis? Comment your thoughts below.