American Robert Woodland sentenced in Rusia to 12.5 years
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
US citizen who was adopted from Russia as a toddler has been sentenced to a 12-and-a-half-year prison term after he returned to his motherland to look for his birth mom.
Robert Woodland, 32, was arrested and held on drug charges earlier this year after he decided to stay in the authoritarian country following his dramatic reunion with with his biological family on a Russian TV show.
He was found guilty by a Moscow court of attempting to traffic a large quantity of drugs as part of an organized group and was sentenced on Thursday.
Images from the hearing show Woodland appearing in court with a shaved head inside a glass courtroom box, smiling only briefly before his verdict was read aloud.
6US citizen Robert Woodland was sentenced to more than 12 months in prison in Moscow on Thursday. AP6The English teacher awaited his sentence in a glass courtroom box. AP
Woodland was identified by Russian media as the English teacher interviewed by the Komsomolskaya Pravda outlet.
In the 2020 interview, Woodland said he was born in Russia's Perm region in 1991, where he was adopted by an American couple when he was only 2 years old.
Explore More
Ukraine's army retreats from positions as Russia gets closer to seizing strategically important town
Volodymyr Zelensky says he's ready to meet with Trump — as he decries weapons delays for Ukraine
UN experts say Russia violated international law by imprisoning Wall Street Journal reporter
As an adult, Woodland made the journey back to Russia to search for his birth mother, reconnecting with her on a state television.
After their heartbreaking reunion, Woodland told Russian media that he liked living in his birth country and decided to stay, settling in Dolgoprudny and teaching English at a local school
6Woodland's reunion with his family was shown on Russian television. Instagram6Woodland was accused of attempting to traffic a large quantity of drugs as part of an organized group. AP6Woodland smiled and flashed a peace sign during a court hearing last month. YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Woodland's fairytale story came to end on Jan. 5, when he was detained on drug charges, according to Russia's Ostankino District Court.
His lawyer, Stanislav Kshevitskii, told reporters in April that Moscow had "no evidence of drug sales" linked to Woodland.
Kshevitskii did not immediately provide a statement following the court's verdict.
6Woodland had visited Russian to search for his birth mother, opting to stay there and live as an English teacher. AP
Woodland was among the latest wave of Americans arrested in Russia, with Washington accusing Moscow of using US citizens as political bargaining chips amid the war in Ukraine.
His conviction comes just days after Moscow began its trial against Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen accused of spying against the Kremlin.
— With Post wires
Tags
Who is online
423 visitors
God Damn Them Both!
Is that the Old Testament or New Testament God that you beseech?
This was expected. It's part of the procedure. They grab some nearly random American, convict in a kangaroo court and then trade him later for someone they want. To Putin, this is just business. And why I would never go to a country like Russia or China.