A US citizen has been arrested in Russia on drug charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years, a Moscow court said on Tuesday.
Moscow’s Ostankino District Court said that on January 6 Robert Romanov Woodland was remanded in custody until March 5 on charges related to the illegal acquisition or possession of drugs.
Russian internet news site Mash said that Woodland, 32, was charged with attempted mass production and sale of drugs.
He was arrested on January 5, Mash said.
A Facebook account in the name of Robert Woodland indicates that he has been working as an English teacher in Russia, and lives outside of Moscow.
Could not immediately contact Woodland in Russian custody.
Robert Romanov Woodland was remanded in custody until March 5 for his charges, according to Moscow’s Ostankino District Court. Facebook / Robert Woodland
In 2020, Woodland, known to friends as “Rob”, told a Russian newspaper that he was adopted in 1993 by US citizens from an orphanage in Perm, in the Urals, and brought to live in the United States.
He then returned to Russia.
He appears to have both a Russian and an American passport.
Woodland was charged with attempted production and sale of illegal drugs on a large scale. Facebook / Robert Woodland
The US says that several of its citizens were wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, including Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
The State Department has repeatedly warned all Americans to leave Russia immediately, citing the risk of wrongful arrest and harassment from Russian security services.
In Woodland’s 2020 interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, he said that he had wonderful adoptive parents in the United States.
Woodland faces years in prison on his drug charges, which can carry up to 20 years in prison in Russia. Instagram / @roman_askhatovich A Facebook account in the name of Robert Woodland shows that he is an English teacher in Russia. Facebook / Robert Woodland
But he wanted to find his genetic mother in Russia and eventually reunited with her on Russian state television.
“Mama cried and begged for forgiveness. But I forgave him before this meeting. I was never mad at him. I always miss him so much.”
“I was drawn to Russia with extraordinary strength. And here I am. I have decided to stay in my homeland forever,” he said in the interview.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
