Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American ballerina, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday (15) after a Russian court found her guilty of treason for donating just over $50 to a New York-based charity supporting Ukraine.
A major prisoner swap on August 1 between Russia and the West freed three Americans, but Moscow still holds several American citizens in detention.
Here are the most prominent cases.
Ksenia Karelina
Karelina, who works at a Los Angeles spa, was arrested in February while visiting family in Yekaterinburg.
After discovering the charitable donation on her phone, the Russian FSB security service accused her of collecting funds for the benefit of the Ukrainian Army.
Her lawyer said she pleaded guilty last week in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, and that he would work to secure her release in a future prisoner exchange.
Marc Fogel
A professor and former employee of the US Embassy in Moscow, Fogel is serving a 14-year sentence for drug trafficking after being detained at a Moscow airport in August 2021 with 17 grams of marijuana in his luggage.
Fogel, 63, said he uses the drugs for medical reasons.
US President Joe Biden said Washington was “not giving up” on securing the teacher’s release following a prisoner swap in early August.
Fogel’s family expressed frustration that he was not included in that exchange.
Gordon Black
An active-duty U.S. sergeant stationed in South Korea, Black was detained in May in Russia’s Far East on suspicion of stealing money from his Russian girlfriend.
In June, a court found Black guilty of stealing 10,000 rubles ($150) from the woman and threatening to kill her, sentencing him to three years and nine months in prison.
U.S. officials said last month that the Army had stopped paying Black his salary and could prosecute him for violating its rules if he returns to the United States.
His appeal hearing is scheduled for August 19 in Vladivostok, according to local media.
Joseph Tater
Tater was sentenced to 15 days in jail on Wednesday for “petty hooliganism” after being accused of abusing staff at a Moscow hotel, which he denied.
Russian news agencies say he is also being investigated on a more serious charge of assaulting a police officer, which carries up to five years in prison.
Michael Travis Leake
Musician and former US paratrooper Leake was sentenced to 13 years in prison in July for drug trafficking.
It was unclear how Leake came to plead guilty to the charges, which were filed after his arrest in June 2023.
Roberto Romanov Woodland
An American citizen adopted from Russia as a child, Woodland had returned to Russia and was working as an English teacher when he was arrested on charges of attempting to sell drugs.
He was sentenced on July 4 to 12 1/2 years in prison. His lawyer said Woodland had partially admitted guilt.
Robert Gilman
A former U.S. Marine, Gilman began serving a 4½-year sentence — later reduced to 3½ years — in October 2022 after attacking a police officer while drunk.
He told the court he had no memory of the incident but had “apologized to Russia” and the police officer.
Prosecutors ordered a new trial for Gilman, which began in June, involving four additional assault charges. He has repeatedly complained of medical problems in prison, including food poisoning, Russian media reported.
Eugene Spector
Currently serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery, Spector, who was born in Russia and later moved to the US, was charged last August with espionage.
Before his arrest in 2021, he served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specializing in cancer drugs, state media said.
Spector pleaded guilty to helping bribe an aide to a former Russian deputy prime minister. It was not clear how he pleaded guilty to the espionage charge.
David Barnes
Barnes was sentenced by a Russian court in February to 21 years on charges of abusing his two children in the United States. He was involved in a custody dispute with his Russian ex-wife.
The allegations had previously been investigated in Texas, where authorities found no grounds to charge him.
Source: CNN Brasil
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