A court in Vladivostok has sentenced US Army Sergeant Gordon Black to three years and nine months in prison in a general regime colony. Black was charged with robbery and threatening to kill.
A court in Vladivostok sentenced US Army sergeantGordon Black, who was accused of robbery and threats to kill, to three years and nine months in prison in a colony of general regime. Black pleaded not guilty to the death threats, but pleaded partially guilty to the robbery, saying he had no intention of doing it and returned the money.
According to an American television network, the soldier flew to Russia at the end of April from South Korea to visit his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, without the knowledge of his superiors. According to the Prosecutor’s version, they had an argument at the beginning of May, during which the American sergeant he grabbed his girlfriend by the neck. A gesture that she considered as a Death threat. After that, she took 10,000 rubles from his bag, about 11 euros at the current exchange rate. He then spent the money “for his own needs,” including paying for a hotel room, where he was detained.
Vodka consumption and violent behavior
According to Black’s own version, on the day of the fight Alexandra Vashchuk had drunk approximately half a bottle of vodka and began to behave aggressively. She even hit him in the face. In view of his aggression, grabbed her by the neck to “stop her” and said that she took the money to pay for a hotel and leave the house where they both lived. The soldier declared that the Russian citizen, who was his girlfriend at the time, had to recover the money in the form of bail from the owner of the apartment, whose stay was paid for by the American sergeant.
Black’s conviction comes amid extremely tense relations between the United States and Russia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The State Department of the North American country has repeatedly urged its citizens to do not travel to Russian territory, among other things due to the threat of ending up in prison. Several Americans are currently detained in Russia, including two who the State Department believes were wrongfully arrested: the exmarine Paul Whelan and the Wall Street Journal journalistEvan Hershkovich.
