A court in Russia’s Far East has convicted a US Army soldier who reportedly violated military regulations when he traveled to Russia with his Russian girlfriend in May. He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, under the assumption that he attacked and threatened his girlfriend.
32-year-old soldier Gordon Black, who pleaded not guilty to the charges before the Pervomaisk District Court. But he admitted hitting the woman, identified as Aleksandra Vashchuk, after he said she had attacked him while drunk and tried to prevent him from leaving.
Russian prosecutors had asked for almost five years in prison for Black, writes rel.
He was also ordered to pay $115 in restitution to Vashchuk in a related civil case.
The American soldier’s lawyer said his client is innocent and will appeal the verdict.
US authorities have said Black traveled to Russia via China from South Korea – where he was assigned to serve before returning to his home in Texas – without informing his superiors.
At the time Black was arrested in early May, Russian authorities reported that they had also arrested another American citizen, identified as William Russell Nycum, on charges of hooliganism and alcohol.
The arrests have raised suspicions that Russian authorities are targeting Americans for the possibility of using them in prisoner swaps, as Moscow and Washington have soured relations over the war in Ukraine and other international security issues.
Russia has also arrested other US citizens who Washington insists are being held unjustly in Russian prisons, including Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marcher Paul Whelan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry insists that the cases of Black and Nycum are not political.
