Yahoo News What to Know About Brittney Griner's Daily Life in a Russian Detention Center
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Brittney Griner in Russian court on July 1
Brittney Griner is going on nearly 150 days in a Russian detention center and counting, as she remains in custody since her February arrest on charges of drug smuggling.
The two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time WNBA All-Star was arrested Feb. 17 at the Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, with Russian Federal Customs Service alleging that Griner was in possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil while traveling through the airport.
On July 7, Griner pleaded guilty, saying that she did bring cannabis products into the country — where they are illegal — but that she was packing quickly and did not mean to break the law, and only did so "inadvertently."
RELATED: Everything to Know Before Brittney Griner's Trial Begins in Russia
PEOPLE spoke with Russian human rights activist Ekaterina Kalugina, who works with a volunteer organization that "checks up on prisons and detention centers to make sure basic human rights are being observed." She also works as a reporter at the Moscow paper Moskovskii Komsomlyets.
Life at Her Russian Detention Center
Kalugina had visited Griner in March at the detention center she's been held in since her arrest, located "about 100 kilometers" away from Moscow. The WNBA star appeared "calm and stoical," Kalugina said.
"She wasn't tearful, she was chatting away quite calmly," Kalugina said of her conversation with Griner at the time, and complimented Griner's composure in spite of her circumstances. "She didn't seem depressed; I've seen a lot of prisoners and in comparison she's doing really well."
Ekaterina Savchenko Brittney Griner, right, during a March visit to the Russian detention center where she is being held
Griner was sharing a cell with two other women also awaiting trials for first-time drug offenses under Russian law. In an article Kalugina wrote for Moskovsii Komsomolyets, she identified Griner's cellmates as "21-year-old Olya and 28-year-old Alena." Kalugina said the cell contains a "private zone" for any of the three women to use should they wish for alone time that also contains a toilet. She also noted that the women are allowed to use a steam room with a shower twice a week.
Kalugina said that while Moscow's prisons are generally crowded, because Griner's detention is outside of the city her and her two cellmates share a cell designed to occupy four when most women are in bunks of eight.
"It's a reasonable size, the walls are light, not dark, there's a TV there but of course, all the channels are in Russian," she said. Kalugina's reporting in Moskovsii Komsomolyets notes that the television shows up to 20 channels that change automatically every hour.
Kalugina noted she's been told Griner's "very small" bed has been extended since she last visited so the 6'9" basketball star "can stretch out." Otherwise, Kalugina said Griner is treated "well enough," in detention, noting that all detainees are treated equally in the facility.
During her detainment, Griner has been reading — Kalugina said that in March, the Phoenix Mercury star had checked out a biography on The Rolling Stones from the center's library and her lawyer had brought her a copy of the 19th-century novel Demons by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Kalugina said Griner's two cellmates speak English and that the three "seemed to get on well," passing time by playing games like Battleship.
Ekaterina Savchenko The outside of the Russian detention center where Brittney Griner has been held
Griner, though, hasn't been able to work out, let alone train at a WNBA level, since her arrest. But "she didn't complain at all," about that, Kalugina said. "Of course, it's hard for her not doing her training, and there is no gym equipment outside in the detention area where they exercise."
Moving to a New Detention Center
Griner has spent the majority of her time at the detention center outside of Moscow, but on the days she comes in for her trial, the Olympian is moved to a "temporary detention isolation unit" near the court. Kalugina says that Griner will be moved back and forth throughout her trial, which is being held near Moscow's Sheremetievo Airport, the site of her February arrest.
Kalugina had just returned from observing Griner's new detention facility before speaking with PEOPLE. She explained that in this detention center, Griner can only share a cell with women who have no prior convictions, and since there are no other first-time offenders at the center, Griner will stay on her own during her trial.
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"There are only two other women there at the moment, one is a minor and the other has been previously convicted so the three of them will be in their own cells," Kalugina said, adding that Griner is expected to be moved back to the original detention center about three days after her court appearances.
Kalugina said she felt the conditions at the temporary detention center are good, though she said she may visit Griner in the other detention center upon the basketball star's return there to check in.
RELATED VIDEO: Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Russian Drug Charges: 'I Did Not Want to Break the Law'
While Kalugina said Griner did not mention how worried she was about how long her imprisonment may last in March, Griner's representatives released excerpts on July 4 from a letter the WNBA star penned to President Joe Biden, pleading for his help in getting her out of Russia.
"... as I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever," she wrote.
Griner's trial continued July 14, with members of her Russian basketball team testifying to her character, calling her the "heart of the team." Another day of hearings are scheduled for Friday, and her trial is expected to continue for several more weeks. If convicted, Griner faces up to 10 years in prison.
While Griner has been top of mind in the U.S. sports world, particularly among WNBA players, Kalugina said that Russian citizens likely aren't following her trial.
"To be honest, I don't think anyone has even heard of [Griner]," Kalugina said. "Russians are interested in Russians and of course no one is going to take her side even if they do read about her."
