A Moscow court has sentenced U.S. citizen Robert Woodland to 12 1/2 years in a maximum-security penal colony after finding him guilty of the attempted sale of illegal drugs, the court press service reported on July 4. Woodland, a Russian-born man who was adopted by American parents as a child, was arrested by Russian police in January on charges of drug possession. At the time of his arrest, Woodland had reportedly been working as an English teacher outside Moscow. Court documents identified him by his Russian surname, Romanov, but it was not clear whether he had Russian citizenship. The Interfax news agency said he was a Russian citizen. More than 10 U.S. citizens are being held in Russian jails and prisons, accused or convicted on charges ranging from drug possession and theft to treason and espionage. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.
Russia Jails U.S. Citizen For 12 1/2 Years On Drug Charges
U.S. citizen Robert Woodland, who was born in Russia and adopted by American parents as a child, has been sentenced to more than 12 years in Russia on drug-trafficking charges, his lawyer said.