MOSCOW (AP) — A court in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on Thursday began the trial of a U.S. soldier arrested earlier this year on theft charges.
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 34, was arrested on suspicion of theft from his girlfriend after flying to the Pacific port city of Vladivostok to meet her, according to US and Russian authorities. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported from a courtroom in Vladivostok’s Pervomaisky District Court that Black had agreed to testify in the trial and would answer to the charges against him later in the proceedings. The report also quoted local police as saying Black was cooperating with authorities.
Black’s arrest further complicates increasingly tense relations between the United States and Russia as fighting in Ukraine continues.
Russia has been tampering with corporate security executives such as Paul Whelan and The Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich. The US government has determined that they were wrongfully detained and is negotiating for their release.
The others detained were musician Travis Leake, a longtime resident of Russia who was arrested last year on drug charges, Moscow teacher Mark Fogel, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison also on drug charges, and dual nationals Arush Kurmasheva and Ksenia Havana.
The US State Department strongly advises American citizens not to travel to Russia.
Under Department of Defense policy, service members must get permission from their security manager or commander for any international travel.
U.S. Army soldier Gordon Black, who was being held on suspicion of theft, appears in court in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Pavel Korolyov/AFP) (Photo: Pavel Korolyov/AFP via Getty Images)
The Army said last month that Black had not sought or received permission from the Pentagon to travel overseas, and it is highly unlikely he would be approved, given the fighting in Ukraine and ongoing threats to the U.S. and its troops.
Black was on leave and was returning to his base at Fort Cavazos, Texas, from the 8th Army’s Camp Humphreys in South Korea. Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said Black had submitted a letter of resignation and “instead of returning to the continental United States, flew from Incheon, South Korea, via China to Vladivostok, Russia for personal reasons.”
Black’s girlfriend, Aleksandra Bashchuk, told reporters after Thursday’s court hearing that it was “just a domestic dispute” and that Black “became aggressive and attacked her.” “Then he stole money from my wallet, and I did not allow him to do that,” Bashchuk said.
U.S. authorities have said Black, who is married, met his lover in South Korea.
According to U.S. officials, the Russian woman had been living in South Korea and had some sort of domestic dispute or altercation with Black last fall. She then left South Korea. It is unclear whether she was forced to leave South Korea or whether South Korean authorities played any role in her departure.
