American soldier detained in Russia for “criminal offense”

An American soldier has been detained since Thursday in Russia, where he is accused of “criminal offense”, a spokesperson for the American army announced Monday.

may2024, Russian authorities in Vladivostok, Russia, arrested an American soldier on criminal charges”,”text”:”On May 2, 2024, Russian authorities in Vladivostok, Russia arrested an American soldier on the basis of criminal charges”}}”>On May 2, 2024, authorities in Vladivostok, Russia, arrested an American soldier on a criminal charge.said Cynthia Smith, specifying that the soldier’s family had been notified and that consular support was being provided.

Due to the sensitivity of the matter, we are unable to provide further details at this timeshe added.

Earlier, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said he was aware of this affair.

He was reacting to information from the channel NBC News according to which a soldier deployed in South Korea traveled on his own to Russia, where he was arrested.

The soldier, a sergeant, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of theft and is currently in pre-trial detention, according to the channel CNN.

Convictions that multiply

In recent years, several American citizens have been arrested and given long sentences in Russia. Washington, which has supported Ukraine against the Russian army for two years, accuses Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians detained in the United States.

Journalist at Wall Street JournalEvan Gershkovich, who also worked for theAFP in Moscow in the past, was arrested by the Russian security services (FSB) during a report in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, more than a year ago, in March 2023.

He is accused of espionage, a crime punishable by 20 years in prison, a sentence of unprecedented severity since the end ofUSSR for a foreign journalist.

He rejects these accusations, as do the United States, his newspaper, his loved ones and his family.

Russia has never substantiated its accusations or publicly provided evidence. The entire procedure was classified secret.

A Russian-American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva, working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has also been in detention since October 2023 for not having registered as aforeign agent as required by the authorities.