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The former English teacher was charged with assault last year for attacking her partner with a knife during a domestic dispute in which he received light facial injuries. A human rights activist involved with the case said she acted in self-defence. At Thursday's hearing she said it "shocked my world" when she was placed in a penal colony where she was put to work making artificial flowers for cemeteries and mortuaries. It was forced labour," she said, complaining no medical treatment was available except for headache tablets. Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden hopes Putin will be more open to negotiating Brittney Griner's release now midterms are over
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden said he hopes Putin will be willing to talk about freeing Brittney Griner with midterms over. He said he hopes Putin will "be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange." Griner's appeal to her nine-year sentence was rejected, and she has been sent to a penal colony. Biden has publicly spoken about trying to release Griner multiple times. Earlier this week Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, said she was worried about the basketball star's mental health.

☆ Brittney Griner Is Moved to Russian Penal Colony
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Brittney Griner in a Moscow court in August. The U.S. basketball star faces serving her sentence in a Russian penal colony. MOSCOW—U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was transferred to a penal colony in Russia to serve the remainder of a nine-year drugs conviction, dashing supporters’ hopes that she might be freed in a prisoner swap before having to do hard time. Ms. Griner’s legal team said Wednesday that she was moved on Nov. 4 from a detention center outside the Russian capital where she had been held since her February arrest and is on her way to a penal colony.

American basketball player Brittney Griner, jailed in Russia in what the United States calls a wrongful detention, is being moved to a penal colony, her attorneys said Wednesday. “Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday. Griner pleaded guilty in July, but said that she'd packed hurriedly for a flight and brought the canisters to Russia unintentionally. Griner treated injuries with medical cannabis, her attorneys argued at the trial. She had been in Russia to play with a Russian Premier League women’s team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she has done since 2014.

☆ Brittney Griner begins transfer to Russian penal colony, attorneys say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Abphillip Rhea Mogul | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is in the process of being moved to a Russian penal colony where she is due to serve the remainder of a nine-year drug smuggling sentence that was upheld in late October. Griner “is now on her way to a penal colony,” her attorneys said in a statement to CNN Wednesday. “We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” said attorneys Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov. “In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the attorneys, as well as the US Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. Last month, Griner lost her appeal against a nine-year drug sentence.

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was transferred last week from a detention center outside the Russian capital and is on her way to a penal colony, her legal team said on Wednesday. She was sentenced on Aug. 4 to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs. Griner had pleaded guilty but said she had made an "honest mistake" and had not meant to break the law. The souring of ties between Russia and the West has complicated the talks to secure Griner's release. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in an earlier statement, described Griner's conditions as "intolerable" and the trial she had to go through as "another sham judicial proceeding."

☆ Kentucky children’s agency is taking ‘additional action’ against foster care facility where 7-year-old boy suffocated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Safia Samee Ali | Safia Samee Ali Is A Reporter For Nbc News Digital | Based In Chicago. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Kentucky agency charged with overseeing state youth centers said it has taken new action against the nonprofit organization that operates a Louisville foster care facility where a 7-year-old boy suffocated to death in July. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services took “additional action” against Uspiritus on Wednesday, Susan Dunlap, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement. The cabinet will not tolerate placing children anywhere where their safety and well-being are not prioritized,” Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a statement following the additional action. The facility said it “dismissed” the two employees who it says were involved immediately after the incident and the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services suspended new foster care placements at Brooklawn. The health and safety of the Brooklawn family is always our top priority,” Uspiritus, which also operates Brooklawn’s sister facility, Bellewood, said in a statement following the boy’s death.

☆ Brittney Griner met with US officials in Russia for the first time since her appeal was denied
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US officials were able to meet with Brittney Griner in person Thursday for the first time in weeks. "[US Russian embassy officials] visited Brittney Griner today," Price tweeted. Griner was in Russia to play with the Russian Premier League during the WNBA off-season. "We continue to press for the immediate release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and fair treatment for every detained American," Price tweeted after the Thursday meeting. Cherelle Griner told co-hosts of "The View" on Tuesday.

Summary Griner faces penal colony after losing drugs appealIn Russian system, inmates made to work long hours for scant payThreat of harsh punishment for breaking trivial rulesLanguage barrier makes ordeal even harder for foreignersLONDON, Nov 3, (Reuters) - Tedious manual work, poor hygiene and lack of access to medical care - such are the conditions awaiting U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in a Russian penal colony after she lost her appeal last week against a nine-year drug sentence. The first thing to understand, Alyokhina said in an interview, is that a penal colony is no ordinary prison. The quite cynical thing about this work is that prisoners usually sew police uniforms and uniforms for the Russian army, almost without salary." A more recent penal colony detainee, Yelena, described a similar regime to that experienced by Alyokhina a decade ago. LANGUAGE BARRIERFor a foreigner with little or no Russian, it's harder to navigate the system and deal with the isolation.

That the WNBA star, who lost her appeal Tuesday, is a gay Black woman could add unknown variables to a penal system that is known to be remote and harrowing. “Conditions in prisons and detention centers varied but were often harsh and life threatening,” a 2021 State Department report on Russian human rights abuses said. “Russian prisons are grim, even relative to prisons in other countries. Prisoners were used for farming, mining or logging in sparsely populated areas of the country or worked in sweatshop conditions. It can often take weeks for prisoners to arrive at the prisons on prison trucks and specially designed train carriages called Stolypins.

☆ Brittney Griner’s Appeal Denied by Moscow Court
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner seen on a video linkup from a detention center at the Moscow Regional Court in August. MOSCOW—A Moscow regional court declined to overrule the drugs conviction of U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner , paving the way for the two-time Olympian to serve nine years in a penal colony for the possession and smuggling of less than a gram of hashish oil. The court hearing Ms. Griner’s appeal on Tuesday had the option of leaving the verdict as it is, reducing the sentence or overruling it and returning it to the lower court where the case was first heard.

☆ Brittney Griner’s Appeal Denied by Russian Court
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—A Moscow regional court upheld the drug conviction of U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner , paving the way for the two-time Olympian to serve nine years in a penal colony for the possession and smuggling of less than a gram of hashish oil. The court hearing Ms. Griner’s appeal on Tuesday had the option of leaving the verdict as it is, reducing the sentence or overruling it and returning it to the lower court where the case was first heard.

☆ U.S. basketball star Griner's Russian appeal hearing adjourned until 1000 GMT
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner appears on a creen via video link from the detention centre before a court hearing to consider an appeal against her prison sentence, in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, Russia October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaKRASNOGORSK, Russia, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A Russian court on Tuesday began hearing an appeal by U.S. WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner against her conviction and nine-year jail sentence for possession and smuggling of drugs, but promptly adjourned for two hours at her lawyers' request. They had previously said they expected a decision on Griner's appeal to be issued later on Tuesday, shortly after the hearing. Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. chargee d’affaires in Moscow, was present at Tuesday's appeal hearing. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Filipp Lebedev and Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/File PhotoMOSCOW, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner "does not expect miracles" at her appeal hearing on Tuesday against a nine-year Russian jail term for having cannabis oil in her luggage, her lawyers said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"She is very nervous waiting for the appeal hearing. Brittney does not expect any miracles to happen but hopes that the appeal court will hear the arguments of the defense and reduce the term," they said. Griner pleaded guilty at her trial but said she had made an "honest mistake" and not meant to break the law. Washington says Griner was wrongfully detained and has offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

☆ Turkish pop star Gulsen appears in court over religious schools joke
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Turkish pop singer accused of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke about Turkey’s religious schools rejected the charge Friday during her first court appearance. In her testimony Friday, Gulsen said she had teased a band member who was nicknamed “Imam” but had not attended a religious school. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools called Imam Hatip, which were originally established to train imams. A 48-page indictment against Gulsen had 702 complainants, including from individuals, a pro-government women’s rights organization and a religious school association. Gulsen previously become a target in Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert.

MOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - American WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner, whose appeal against a Russian jail term is due to be heard next week, sent her supporters a message of thanks on Tuesday, her 32nd birthday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGriner pleaded guilty at her trial but said she had made an "honest mistake" and not meant to break the law. "Today is of course a difficult day for Brittney," said Blagovolina, who is representing Griner in court. Washington says Griner was wrongfully detained and has offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Filipp Lebedev; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin aide says Russia is not prioritizing the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A close aide to Vladimir Putin said that Brittney Griner's release is not Russia's "main issue." The aide also said that he didn't believe US President Joe Biden is prioritizing her release. Griner has been wrongfully detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges for the last eight months. Biden has spoken about Griner's release in public on multiple occasions and met with her family in September, after writing the basketball star a letter in July. "But, for example, if he came to me at the G20 and said, 'I want to talk about the release of Griner,' I would meet with him."

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. appears in New York Criminal Court for his sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018, in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Mike SegarOct 13 (Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty on Thursday to a single count of harassment under an agreement with prosecutors sparing him any jail time while disposing of a criminal case that stemmed from allegations by several women of sexual misconduct. One of Gooding's lawyers, Frank Rothman, told Reuters that Gooding's harassment plea in Manhattan benefits his client by avoiding a criminal record as well as sparing him further jail time. Charges relating to two out of the three were dismissed outright, and the third ended up in a plea to harassment as a violation," Rothman said. "I've waited three years for the opportunity to speak about the injustice of Cuba Gooding Jr.

“It’s fascinating how people seek queerness — and where they seek queerness,” Fuller added. Murnau’s “Faust” and “Nosferatu,” such moments of levity keep viewers engaged while they’re soaking up early Hollywood’s rich queer history. “Whether you’re ideologically queer or sexually queer, you might relate to the monster’s narrative, because you, too, have felt ‘outsidered’ or villainized in some way.” Bryan fuller, 'queer for fear' executive producer“The Dracula costume kit is basically drag. So this, to me, is the experience of being a gay man.”As Alaska’s assessment demonstrates, “Queer for Fear” isn’t interested in just exploring how horror has provided a haven for queer creatives. Because of the Hays Code, LGBTQ creators and those, like Hitchcock, who wanted to include those themes had to do so through subtext, which counterintuitively gave birth to some of the most essential queer horror ever made.

☆ No mention of opposition leader Alexey Navalny was too small to attract scrutiny from Putin's vast surveillance state, according to report
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Russian agency tasked with monitoring the internet was obsessed with dissident Alexey Navalny. The New York Times analyzed a trove of leaked Roskomnadzor records in a Thursday report. The Roskomnadzor records, though representative of only one of Russia's 85 regions, make clear that the authorities think Navalny remains a threat. Any articles, social media comments, or even websites where his name simply appeared in marginal links, were flagged by the agency, according to The Times. Roskomnadzor in conjunction with other facets of Russia's surveillance state also targeted anyone who supported Navalny, records show.

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference regarding former US President Donald Trump and his family's financial fraud case on September 21, 2022 in New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday her office believes it has uncovered federal crimes by former President Donald Trump and others, including bank fraud and lying to financial institutions. James said her office has sent a criminal referral to federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the IRS. "We are aware of the New York Attorney General's referral, and beyond that decline to comment further," a spokesman for the Manhattan federal prosecutors' office told NBC News. Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, in a statement Wednesday accused James of filing the civil lawsuit to advance her "political agenda."

☆ Russian opposition calls for protests against Putin's 'criminal war'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaTBILISI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Russia's opposition on Wednesday called for protests against President Vladimir Putin after he ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists for what Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny said was a failing criminal war. read moreNavalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader who is currently in prison, said Putin was sending more Russians to their death for a failing war. Russia's anti-war groups called for street protests against the mobilisation order. "This means that thousands of Russian men - our fathers, brothers and husbands - will be thrown into the meat grinder of war," the Vesna anti-war coalition said. In the days after the start of the war, riot police cracked down on nightly street protests detaining at least 16,000 protesters, according to the OVD-Info rights group.

☆ Where the Wild Things Are
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( The New York Times Magazine | Photographs Yael Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

To return home from an animal voyage is to become, yourself, a new animal living in your old habitat. “If the snow leopard should manifest itself, then I am ready to see the snow leopard,” Matthiessen writes. “We’ve seen so much, maybe it’s better if there are some things that we don’t see.”Today, nearly 50 years later, if you are so inclined, you can go see a snow leopard at the zoo. The best trips, like Peter Matthiessen’s search for the snow leopard, find a way to make themselves permanent. To return home from an animal voyage is to become, yourself, a new animal living in your old habitat.

☆ Lessons From a Lifetime of Animal Voyages
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Sam Anderson | Photographs Yael Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

An animal voyage is special because it requires us to make many journeys all at once. My favorite record of an animal voyage is a book that’s fluent in failure. To return home from an animal voyage is to become, yourself, a new animal living in your old habitat. “If the snow leopard should manifest itself, then I am ready to see the snow leopard,” Matthiessen writes. To return home from an animal voyage is to become, yourself, a new animal living in your old habitat.

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