A Moscow court announced Tuesday that the Russian government will detain 32-year-old American citizen Robert Romanoff Woodland for at least two months on drug charges, which could result in a sentence of 20 years in prison.
Ostankinsky District Court in Moscow Said Woodland was taken into custody on Jan. 5 and will remain in custody until at least March 5, pending trial on charges of “unlawfully obtaining, storing, transporting, manufacturing, or processing narcotics, psychotropic substances, or similar substances.” He is scheduled to be detained until then.
According to court documents, Woodland is a dual Russian-American citizen with no legal employment and no criminal record. Investigators justified his long pretrial detention by stating that “criminal activity is his main source of income” and explaining that he is a flight risk.
Russian Interfax news agency Said Woodland was arrested attempting to purchase 4.5 grams of an unnamed drug, and is suspected of attempting to resell it. Police said he was in possession of a synthetic drug called mephedrone at the time of his arrest.
If Woodland is convicted, Russia's sentencing guidelines for his alleged crimes call for a sentence of eight to 20 years in prison.
US Department of State Admitted Regarding reports of Woodland's arrest, he said, “Nothing takes precedence over the safety and security of American citizens overseas,” but had no further comment.
Russian media speculates that Woodland is the same person who gave an interview to the newspaper in 2020. Komsomolskaya Pravda In it, he said he was born in Russia's Ural Mountains, was placed in an orphanage, and was adopted by an American couple when he was two years old.
In this interview, Robert Woodland said he traveled to Russia growing up, met his Russian birth mother on a Moscow TV show, and decided to settle in the town of Dolgoprudny near Moscow. As of 2020, he is working as an English teacher at a school in Dolgoprudny.
“Mom cried and begged for forgiveness. But I forgave her before this meeting. I have never been angry with her. I always missed her so much “,” the man said. Komsomolskaya Pravda In 2020.
“I was attracted to Russia with tremendous force. And here I am. I decided to stay in the Motherland forever,” he said.
Reuters discovered A Facebook account in Woodland's name says he is an English teacher who lives on the outskirts of Moscow, suggesting they are the same person. CBS News I got it. The Facebook account in question and the Instagram account also attributed to Woodland have been inactive for the past year.
Reuters cited reports that Woodland was in possession of both Russian and American passports at the time of his arrest.
Woodland's arrest comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has at least two other Americans in custody. One is Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was arrested in 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges. wall street journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich was also arrested in March 2023 on suspicion of espionage.
Another journalist from Radio Free Europe (RFE), Ars Kurmasheva, who holds dual US and Russian citizenship, said: detained During a trip to visit family in October. Ms. Kurumasheva was accused of “failing to register as a foreign agent” when she entered Russia, a charge that her husband, Pavel Butrin, dismissed as “ridiculous.”
So do both Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich, the U.S. government and Mr. Gershkovich's employer. WSJ, They categorically denied Russia's claims against them.
In this August 23, 2019 file photo, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested on December 28, 2018 on suspicion of espionage in Moscow, appears in a cage in a courtroom in Moscow, Russia. waiting. . On Monday, June 15, 2020, the Moscow City Court found Paul Whelan guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. Mr Whelan claims he was framed and maintains his innocence. (Alexander Zemlyanichenko. File/AP)
president joe biden met and Mr Whelan's sister Elizabeth on Wednesday after Russia rejected a “new and significant” State Department proposal to secure his release in December. The State Department said Russia had rejected “multiple offers” for Mr. Whelan's freedom.
“I hope that a solution will be found. But again, the American side must listen to us and take a decision that also satisfies the Russian side,” Russian dictator Vladimir Putin offered. After refusing to do so, he effectively acknowledged that Mr. Whelan was a political hostage.
Whelan himself told reporters from the labor camp where he is being held that the Biden administration had “left me behind” after freeing other Americans from Russia in a prisoner swap.
“I know the United States has come up with all kinds of offers, serious offers, but that's not what Russia is looking for. So they keep going back and forth. The only problem is, they… “My life is being consumed while I'm doing this,” he said in a telephone interview with the BBC on December 20.
Critics of the Biden administration are concerned that President Biden encouraged President Putin to take more American hostages after saying: absurdly biased transaction In December 2022, notorious arms dealer Victor Bout will be traded for female basketball player Brittney Griner.
Russian Viktor Bout released from US prison in December 2022 (Boris Alekseev/Anadolu Agency, via Getty)
