(19 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++PLEASE NOTE: AP IS OPERATING IN RUSSIA ACCORDING TO RUSSIAN RESTRICTIONS ON ALL REPORTING RELATED TO THE ONGOING MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vladivostok, Russia – 19 June 2024
1. Various of American soldier Gordon Black being brought to courtroom
2. Guard removing handcuffs
3. Various of Black in cage
4. Various of Black reading documents and speaking to his lawyers
5. Black in cage
6. Black being brought out of courtroom
7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Maksim Koval, prosecution representative:
"The court sentenced (Black) to 3 years and 9 months imprisonment with serving sentence at a colony of general regime and also satisfied the claims of the complainant (Black’s girlfriend) for the amount of 10,000 rubles ($115 US dollars)."
8. Various of court exteriors
STORYLINE:
A court in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Wednesday sentenced an American soldier arrested earlier this year to three years and nine months in prison on charges of stealing and threats of murder, Russian news reports said.
Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok, a Pacific port city, to see his girlfriend and was arrested after she accused him of stealing from her, according to U.S. officials and Russian authorities.
Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported from the courtroom in the Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok that the judge also ordered Black to pay 10,000 rubles ($115) in damages.
Prosecutors had asked for Black to be sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.
Black’s sentencing further complicates U.S. relations with Russia, which have grown increasingly tense as the fighting in Ukraine continues.
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.
The U.S. State Department strongly advises American citizens not to go to Russia.
Under Pentagon policy, service members must get clearance for any international travel from a security manager or commander.
The U.S. Army said last month that Black hadn’t sought clearance for the international travel and it wasn’t authorised by the Defence 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.
Black was on leave and in the process of returning to his home base at Fort Cavazos, Texas, from South Korea, where he had been stationed at Camp Humphreys with the Eighth Army.
Cynthia Smith, an Army spokesperson, said Black signed out for his move back home and, “instead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Incheon, Republic of Korea, through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons.”
Black’s girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, told reporters earlier this month that “it was a simple domestic dispute,” during which Black “became aggressive and attacked” her. “He then stole money from my wallet and I didn’t give him permission to do it,” Vashchuk said.
U.S. officials have said that Black, who is married, met his girlfriend in South Korea.
According to U.S. officials, the Russian woman had lived in South Korea, and last fall she and Black got into some type of domestic dispute or altercation. After that, she left South Korea. It isn’t clear if she was forced to leave or what, if any, role South Korean authorities had in the matter.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cc7ee0e91bea44f4b315e8bb1d9c2385
