Russian court sentences US citizen to 12.5 years in prison for drug trafficking

A Russian-born U.S. citizen was sentenced Thursday to 12 1/2 years in a maximum-security prison for drug-related offenses.

Robert Woodland was accused of trafficking large quantities of drugs as part of an organized gang, a crime that carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. He was arrested and has been in custody since January.

Stanislav Kshevitsky, his lawyer, said Reuters that Woodland had partially admitted his guilt, but that his team would appeal the sentence.

Video footage released by authorities showed Woodland, his head shaved, locked in a glass cage in a courtroom. He showed little emotion as the verdict was read.

Kshevitsky said Woodland suffered from mental health issues, but declined to provide further details. Reuters The Russian court did not take into consideration his client's mental health before sentencing him to a penal colony.

Prosecutors said Woodland was part of a large-scale criminal group and transported 50 grams of mephedrone, a type of amphetamine, from a location outside Moscow to the city, where he packaged the drugs for sale. He was arrested while dropping off the drugs, prosecutors said.

The 32-year-old is among a list of Americans who have been arrested in Russia as tensions between the two nations escalate.

Among the other Americans detained is Evan Gershkovich, a the wall street journal The journalist was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, which he and his employer vehemently deny. The US government claims he is being used as a bargaining chip by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage. He and the U.S. government have denied the charges.

Russia claims he was a spy for military intelligence and was arrested in possession of a USB drive containing classified information.

Ksenia Karelina, who has dual U.S. and Russian citizenship, was arrested in February on treason charges while visiting family. Karelina, who lives in Los Angeles, is accused of collecting donations for a Ukrainian organization whose beneficiary is the Ukrainian military. Her family said she donated $50 to a New York-based nonprofit that provides nonmilitary aid to Ukraine. If convicted, she could spend the next 20 years behind bars.

Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher, was arrested in August 2021 for trying to enter Russia with 17 grams of medical marijuana. The drug had been prescribed to him by a doctor in the United States to treat chronic pain. He was sentenced in June 2022 to 14 years in prison. He had been working in Russia since 2012 and taught at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. In the two years since he was sentenced to a penal colony, he told Triblive.com that he had been struggling with health problems.

“The spinal problems are deep injuries,” he said. “There’s nerve damage and numbness, and my balance is not as good as it should be.”

Fogel did not criticize Russian authorities or speak ill of prison conditions, likely because his comments were monitored.

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Eugene Spector, born in Russia and living in the United States, is serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for corruption. He was chairman of the board of directors of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specializing in cancer drugs.

He pleaded guilty to helping bribe an aide to a former Russian deputy prime minister.