The American soldier arrested in Russia and tried since June 6 in a “theft” case pleaded partially guilty on Monday during a hearing in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, the Interfax agency reported.
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Gordon Black, 34, accused of “robbery” and “threat of murder”, faces up to five years in prison, according to the Russian Criminal Code.
During the second hearing of his trial, which took place on Monday, Gordon Black, assisted by an interpreter, pleaded “not guilty” to threats of murder, but “partially guilty of theft”, while ensuring that he was not not to have premeditated this act, indicated Interfax.
The American soldier is accused of having “beaten” his Russian girlfriend, Alexandra Vachchouk, in Vladivostok, and of having stolen 10,000 rubles, or a little more than 100 euros.
The victim claims that Gordon Black tried to strangle her during a fight in the apartment they rented together, before leaving to sleep at the hotel and stealing money from her to pay for her night’s stay.
Gordon Black claims to be deployed in South Korea and to have come to Russia at the invitation of Alexandra Vashchouk to have a romantic relationship with her.
He accused Ms. Vachchouk on Monday of provoking their fight, claiming that she was intoxicated at the time of the incident after drinking “half a bottle of vodka and a beer,” according to local media.
The American soldier accused his partner of throwing a plate at him, before hitting him in the face.
He said he then climbed on top of her and took her by the neck to “calm” her, before releasing her and giving her a massage because she said she had back pain.
Gordon Black claimed to have then taken 10,000 rubles from his girlfriend’s wallet to go and sleep at a hotel.
At the start of the trial on June 6, Alexandra Vachchouk said she did not want “cruel punishment” for him. “This man is simply sick and he needs help,” she said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
The American soldier’s next hearing is scheduled for June 19.
In recent years, several American citizens have been arrested and given long sentences in Russia. Washington, which supports Kyiv militarily and financially against the Russian army in Ukraine, accuses Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians detained in the United States.
