By Caitlin Danaher, CNN
(CNN) — An American soldier arrested in Russia on suspicion of theft will be detained for two months, a Russian district court said Tuesday.
The soldier – whose name is Gordon Black, according to a US official – will be in detention until July 2, the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok ruled.
The US citizen is accused of “committing secret theft of the property of a citizen T., causing significant damage to the latter,” the court statement said, referring to psychological damages.
A Russian Foreign Ministry representative told Russian state media TASS on Tuesday that the case is “not related to politics or espionage.”
The arrest comes at a time of huge tension between the US and Russia as the war with Ukraine continues. There are a number of Americans being held in Russia, including two who have been declared as wrongfully detained by the US State Department – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.
He was then set to move to Ft. Cavazos in Texas in the future, the official said, but was unable to provide a specific date for the change of station.
“I am deeply concerned by reports that a US Army officer has been detained in Russia,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Monday.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
More Stories
Support for national registry of paedophiles
Puerto Rican legislator, husband jailed for theft
Zelensky wants China at Ukraine peace talks