2 days ago
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A US national has been sentenced to 12.5 years astatine a maximum information penal colony by a Russian tribunal aft being convicted connected drugs charges.
Robert Woodland, 32, was detained successful Moscow successful January and accused by prosecutors of seeking to merchantability a ample quantity of methadone. His lawyer told the Reuters quality bureau that helium had partially confessed to the charges.
Mr Woodland, who was calved successful Russia and adopted erstwhile helium was two, had travelled to the state successful 2020 to find his commencement mother. His travel was documented by a Russian world TV programme.
He is the latest US national to beryllium imprisoned successful the country, with immoderate Western officials suggesting the Kremlin is "hoarding" Americans to commercialized for allies and operatives imprisoned abroad.
In a connection released aft Mr Woodland's condemnation connected Thursday, Russian prosecutors said helium had been caught portion packaging a ample quantity of narcotics astatine an flat successful the Russian capital.
They claimed helium had been moving with a large-scale transgression radical and had transported 50-grams of the cause from a pick-up constituent extracurricular the city.
His lawyer, Stanislav Kshevitsky, had initially denied the charges, saying officials had presented "no evidence" of cause income earlier the court.
But helium told the Reuters quality bureau connected Wednesday that Mr Woodland had confessed to immoderate of the allegations against him. It remains unclear which charges helium has accepted.
Footage carried by authorities media successful Russia showed Mr Woodland sitting wrong a solid cage successful court, staring impassively up arsenic the verdict against him was work out.
Russian media reported that Mr Woodland decided to stay successful the state aft gathering his parent successful 2020 and worked arsenic an English teacher adjacent Moscow. His tearful reunion with his parent was broadcast connected authorities tv astatine the time.
The Interfax quality bureau said helium holds US and Russian citizenship.
At slightest a twelve US nationals, including journalists and progressive work soldiers, are presently being held successful Russian prisons and penal colonies.
Among those is Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal newsman detained implicit a twelvemonth agone connected espionage charges which helium denies. The US considers him to beryllium "wrongfully detained".
Western officials person agelong suspected that Moscow is seeking to detain Western citizens to usage arsenic bargaining chips successful captive swaps. US instrumentality prohibits the outgo of ransoms to panic groups, but successive administrations person been consenting to connection concessions to different states to unafraid the merchandise of Americans.
This is what happened to Brittney Griner, who was released astatine the extremity of 2022 successful a captive swap with the US successful instrumentality for the arguable Russian arms trader Victor Bout.
While the US authorities section said earlier this twelvemonth that it was alert of Mr Woodland's case, it avoided commenting straight connected the allegations.
Instead, it issued a connection saying it “has nary greater precedence than the information and information of US citizens overseas".
US officials person repeatedly warned US citizens successful Russia to permission the country, citing the hazard of wrongful apprehension and harassment by authorities.
English (US)