Robert Woodland, a Russian-born American citizen, has been found guilty of drug charges by a Moscow court and sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison.
MOSCOW — Robert Woodland, a Russian-born U.S. citizen, was convicted of drug charges by a Moscow court and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison on Thursday, court officials and his lawyers said.
He was found guilty of attempting to traffic large quantities of illegal drugs as part of an organized group, according to an online statement posted by judicial officials. His attorneys told reporters after the verdict was handed down Thursday that they will appeal the ruling because Woodland has not been proven guilty.
Attorney Stanislav Kshevitsky also said Woodland suffers from unspecified mental health issues. He did not provide any details but said the court did not consider those issues.
Russian media reported that his name matches a US citizen interviewed in 2020 who said he was born in the Perm region in 1991 and was adopted by an American couple when he was 2 years old.
He said he traveled to Russia to find his mother and eventually met her on a television show before deciding to move to Russia. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted judicial officials as saying that Woodland also has Russian citizenship.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington fall to Cold War lows. Washington accuses Moscow of attacking its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all broke the law.
Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the United States, while others, the prospects of being released in an exchange they are less clear.
Woodland was arrested in January. At the time, the US State Department said it was aware of reports of the recent detention of a US citizen and noted that it “has no higher priority than the safety of US citizens abroad,” but He declined to comment further, citing privacy. considerations. The US embassy in Moscow issued a similar statement at the time.
There was no immediate comment from US officials on the verdict.
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