An American soldier sentenced in Russia to more than three years in prison for theft and threatening to kill

A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a US soldier to more than three years in prison for theft and threatening to kill, state news agencies reported.

Gordon Black was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison by a court in Vladivostok (Russian Far East), Tass and Sputnik reported.

The American soldier had been arrested in Russia and had been on trial since June 6, accused of threatening to kill, of having “beaten” his Russian girlfriend and of stealing 10,000 rubles, or 95 francs.

Monday, during the second hearing of his trial, Gordon Black, assisted by an interpreter, pleaded “not guilty” of threats of murder, but “partially guilty of theft”, while ensuring that he had not premeditated this act, according to the Interfax agency.

Exchange

The victim claimed 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 said he was deployed to South Korea and went to Russia at his invitation. He accused her of instigating their fight, claiming she was drunk, according to local media. The 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 grabbed 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.

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.

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