An American citizen has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison in Russia for drug offenses, reports BBC.
Robert Woodland, 32 years old, was charged with attempting to sell large quantities of methadone in the country. He is said to have collaborated with a criminal gang and was arrested in an apartment in Moscow in January. His lawyer has stated to Reuters that his client has partially confessed to the crime.
Woodland was born in Russia but was adopted as a two-year-old by an American couple. He traveled to Russia in 2020 to try to find his biological mother, which was documented by a Russian reality program.
At least a dozen American citizens are being held in Russia, including Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage.
Several analysts suspect that Moscow is detaining American citizens in order to use them as bargaining chips in prisoner exchanges.
That's what happened with American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was released at the end of 2022 in exchange for the US-imprisoned arms dealer Viktor But, also known as the "Merchant of Death".
