A court in Vladivostok, Russia’s far eastern city, has found an American soldier guilty of theft and making threats of murder. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, traveled to Vladivostok to visit his girlfriend and was arrested after she accused him of stealing from her.
He has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and ordered to pay damages of 10,000 rubles ($115). Prosecutors had sought a longer sentence of four years and eight months.
This case comes amid strained relations between the U.S. and Russia due to Russia’s detention of American journalists and other citizens, especially during the conflict in Ukraine.
Gordon Black is escorted into a glass cage (Via Jack Simmons/Shutterstock)
The U.S. government is actively working to secure the release of detained Americans like Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, whom they consider wrongfully held.
The U.S. State Department strongly advises American citizens against traveling to Russia. Black, who was on leave from his military base in South Korea, was supposed to return to Texas but instead traveled to Vladivostok without proper clearance as required by Pentagon rules.
