{"id":157462,"date":"2024-06-07T11:51:49","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=157462"},"modified":"2024-06-07T11:51:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:51:49","slug":"russian-trial-begins-for-us-soldier-arrested-on-theft-charges-in-vladivostok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=157462","title":{"rendered":"Russian trial begins for US Soldier arrested on theft charges in Vladivostok"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As you guys remember reading<\/a>, Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok, Russia, to see his girlfriend. He ended up being arrested after she accused him of theft. A Russian court began the trial process for Black. If he is convicted, he is looking to serve up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

From the Military Times:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported from the courtroom in the Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok that Black agreed to testify in the trial and will respond to the accusations against him later in the proceedings. The report also cited local police as saying that Black is cooperating with the authorities.<\/p>\n

Black’s arrest further complicates U.S. relations with Russia, which have grown increasingly tense as the fighting in Ukraine continues.<\/p>\n

Russia is holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both men as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.<\/p>\n

Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.<\/p>\n

The U.S. State Department strongly advises American citizens not to go to Russia.<\/p>\n

Under Pentagon policy, service members must get clearance for any international travel from a security manager or commander.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Army said last month that Black hadn’t sought clearance for the international travel and it wasn’t authorized by the Defense Department. Given the hostilities in Ukraine and ongoing threats to the U.S. and its military, it is extremely unlikely he would have been granted approval.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Additional Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Associated Press Staff. (2024, Jun 6). Russian court begins trial of US soldier arrested on theft charges. Associated Press News<\/em>. Link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you guys remember reading, Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok, Russia, to see … Russian trial begins for US Soldier arrested on theft charges in Vladivostok<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[387,384,226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-affairs","category-russia","category-veterans-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=157462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157462\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=157462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=157462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=157462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}