Brittney Griner was transferred to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia

Harsh conditions for Brittney Griner in a Russian penal colony 3:27

(CNN) --

  WNBA star Brittney Griner has been transferred to a penal colony in Russia's Mordovia region, her legal team told CNN in a statement Thursday.

“We can confirm that Brittney began serving her sentence at IK-2 in Mordovia.

We visited her earlier this week.

Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adjusts to a new environment," Griner's attorneys, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, told CNN on Thursday.

Her lawyers said they would like to "thank everyone who has cared about her" and that they have received "numerous messages of support."

They added that "considering that this is a very challenging period for her," there will be no further comment from them.

The Russian region of Mordovia is the same region where American Paul Whelan is being held.

The former US Marine is serving 16 years in a different penal colony on spying charges he denies.

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• Brittney Griner faces a grim life in a Russian penal colony

The State Department said the Russian government has not yet shared Griner's location with them.

“We are aware of reports regarding her location and are in frequent contact with Ms. Griner's legal team,” a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

“However, the Russian Federation has not yet provided any official notification for such a movement of a US citizen, for which we strongly protest.

The Embassy has continued to press for more information on his transfer and current location," the spokesperson added.

While conditions vary greatly in different Russian penal colonies, there are reports of political prisoners being placed in harsh conditions where prisoners may be subject to "solitary confinement or punitive stays in psychiatric units," the State Department human rights report says. .

Russian law also allows forced labor in penal colonies, and in some cases, inmates have been tortured to death, the report says.

There are also reports of prison authorities recruiting inmates to abuse other inmates, the report added.

Brittney Griner