WNBA player Brittney Griner was arrested and convicted of drug smuggling, resulting in a nine-year sentence.
Prior to her release, she spent nine years in prison and faced numerous challenges.
In February 2022, Griner, a WNBA player, was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. She was allegedly charged with drug smuggling while in the country to play basketball for UMMC Ekaterinburg.
Police discovered vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
Then, Brittney Griner was convicted. She was sentenced to nine years in jail and incarcerated in one of Russia's most notorious prisons - IK-2 in Mordovia, an isolated colony.
Brittney has shared her experiences from her time in a Russian prison.
After facing the challenges for 9 years, she was released upon completing her sentence.
During an interview with the media, Griner spoke about the mental toll her imprisonment had on her
In the interview with The Sun, she revealed: "I'd been lying in the dark, thinking, 'I ain't got a weapon.
"I can't make no shank like they did in Orange Is the New Black'."
She confessed to contemplating suicide during the first few weeks, feeling desperate to escape her situation.
However, the thought of her body not being returned to her family deterred her. She resolved to endure her circumstances.
"I didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through. I definitely thought about it. But then, I was just like, what if they didn't release my body to my family?
"And I was like, I can't put them through that. I have to endure this."
According to media reports, Griner was freed in a prisoner swap with the U.S., which resulted in arms dealer Viktor Bout being returned to Russia.
More than a year since her release, Griner has opened up about her experiences in her upcoming memoir, "Coming Home". The memoir reveals the extra precautions she had to take to feel safe at night.
Britteny revealed that she was forced to fashion a shank out of a toothbrush.
Griner recounts lying in the dark, feeling vulnerable without a weapon.
When her attorney visited and brought her a toothbrush among other personal items, she fashioned a makeshift shank for protection.
Griner also revealed that her cellmate was spying on her.
Adding to her stress, Griner discovered that her seemingly sympathetic cellmate had been spying on her.
The cellmate had been keeping a diary documenting Griner's every move. Griner and another cellmate discovered the diary while the spying cellmate was out at a medical appointment.
They found notes on dozens of their conversations dating back to their first day in the cell.
The two managed to get the spying cellmate, who had been passing notes to guards, removed from the cell.
