Girlfriend robbed

Russia: Almost 4 years in penal colony for US soldier

US soldier Gordon Black has been sent to a Russian penal colony for almost four years.

(Bild: AP)

Russia's judiciary handed down a verdict in the case of US soldier Gordon Black on Wednesday: the 32-year-old, who is in custody in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast on suspicion of theft and threatening to murder his girlfriend, must spend three years and nine months in a Russian penal colony.

According to the state news agency RIA, his defense lawyer intends to appeal against the sentence. The public prosecutor's office had demanded a prison sentence of four years and eight months for the US soldier, who pleaded partially guilty a few days ago.

However, he denied that he had threatened to kill his girlfriend. His girlfriend had been heavily intoxicated during an argument with him and had hit him. He had only grabbed her by the back of the neck to calm her down. He had stolen some money from her so that he could sleep in the hotel for one night. The 34-year-old soldier was already arrested in May.

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Pentagon criticizes Black's trip to Russia
The two had met in South Korea. The American had come to Vladivostok to visit her. The Pentagon announced that Black had not only violated army regulations by traveling to the Russian city of Vladivostok without permission before his arrest. His transit through China beforehand had also been against regulations.

Mostly complicated negotiations for detained US citizens
In most cases, the detention of US citizens in Russia leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington regarding release or an exchange. For example, US basketball player Brittney Griner was convicted of drug possession in Russia in 2022 and exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was imprisoned in the USA.

Former US soldier Paul Whelan has been in custody for alleged espionage since the end of 2018. The US authorities' efforts to secure his release have so far been unsuccessful.