US citizens in Russian custody are often a political issue in the strained relations between Moscow and Washington. Now a US soldier has been sentenced in Vladivostok.
A US soldier who was arrested in Russia a month and a half ago has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison by a court in Vladivostok. The verdict was handed down for theft and death threats, as the Russian state news agency Tass reported from the courtroom. The man is said to have stolen 10,000 rubles (around 100 euros) from his girlfriend and threatened her. The defense had called for an acquittal.
The court upheld the prosecutor’s request for a sentence of four years and eight months in prison. The US soldier was arrested in early May in the Russian port city on the Pacific.
According to the US Army, the soldier had finished his service in South Korea on April 10. Instead of returning to the mainland of the United States, he traveled to Vladivostok via China “for personal reasons”. He had not applied for official permission from the US Department of Defense for his trip. The soldier reportedly joined the army in 2008 and was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Tass, the man wanted to visit a woman in Russia with whom he allegedly had a romantic relationship. During an argument, he grabbed his girlfriend by the neck, which she perceived as life-threatening, it was said. He also stole money from her.
A political issue
The imprisonment of US citizens in Russia often leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington about their release or exchange. According to the Kremlin, negotiations are underway for the imprisoned correspondent of the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal”, Evan Gershkovich. The trial against the reporter is scheduled to begin on June 26 behind closed doors.
In the past, US basketball player Brittney Griner, among others, was convicted of drug possession in Russia in 2022 and exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor But, who was imprisoned in the US. Since the end of 2018, former US soldier Paul Whelan has also been in custody in Russia for alleged espionage.
Source: Stern
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