Moscow court sentences US citizen Robert Woodland to 12.5 years in prison for drug trafficking

U.S. citizen Robert Woodland, arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, sits behind a glass wall in a defendants' enclosure before a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (AP) — Robert Woodland, a Russian-born U.S. citizen, was convicted of drug-related charges by a Moscow court and sentenced Thursday to 12 1/2 years in prison, court officials and his lawyers said.

According to a statement posted online by judicial authorities, he was convicted of attempting to traffic large quantities of illegal drugs as part of an organized gang and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in a maximum-security penal colony. His lawyers told reporters after the verdict was delivered Thursday that they would appeal the judgment because Woodland's guilt has not been proven.

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Attorney Stanislav Kshevitsky also said Woodland suffered from unspecified mental health issues. He did not provide details, but said the court did not consider those issues.

Russian media reported that his name matches that of a U.S. citizen interviewed in 2020 who said he was born in the Perm region in 1991 and adopted by an American couple at age 2.

He said he traveled to Russia to reunite with his mother and met her on a TV show before deciding to move to Russia. Russian news agency Interfax cited court officials as saying Woodland also has Russian citizenship.

Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly frequent as relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated to their lowest point since the Cold War. Washington accuses Moscow of targeting its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they have all broken the law.

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Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the United States, while for others the prospects of being released in an exchange are less clear.

Woodland was arrested in January. At the time, the U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports of the recent detention of a U.S. citizen and that “the safety of U.S. citizens abroad is our top priority,” but declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a similar statement at the time.

U.S. officials had no immediate comment on the verdict.

LEFT:
U.S. citizen Robert Woodland, arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, sits behind a glass wall in a defendants' enclosure before a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov