Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner is being moved to a Russian penal colony. The prison facilities are notorious for mistreating inmates.

• Brittney Griner is being transferred to a Russian penal colony, her legal team said.
• The transfer started on Friday, and her team currently does not have information on her whereabouts.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is in the process of being moved to a Russian penal colony. Her transfer from a detention center in Iksha, Russia, began on Friday, a statement from her legal team said.

They added that they have not been given any information on her current location or her final destination, but they will be notified — via mail — when she arrives.

"Our primary concern continues to be BG's health and well-being. As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we ask for the public's support," Griner's agent, Lindsay Colas, said in a statement seen by Insider.

Colas added that they are in "close contact" with the US government and the Richardson Center to determine Griner's location.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration is working to secure Griner's release despite the "lack of good faith negotiations by the Russians."

"As we have said before, the U.S. Government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens," Jean-Pierre said in a statement on November 9.

"The U.S. Government is unwavering in its commitment to its work on behalf of Brittney and other Americans detained in Russia – including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan," she added.

Griner has been held in Russian detention for nearly nine months. She was arrested in February when a Russian official found vape cartridges in her luggage in a Moscow airport.

After she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison, Griner's team appealed her case and just last month lost the appeal. Russia's penal colonies are known for mistreating their inmates.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.