On this picture taken from video launched by Khamovnichesky District Court docket press service on July 18, U.S. citizen Michael Travis Leake stands in a cage in a Moscow courtroom earlier than being convicted of drug trafficking expenses and sentenced to 13 years in jail.
AP/Khamovnichesky District Court docket press service
disguise caption
toggle caption
AP/Khamovnichesky District Court docket press service
A Russian court docket has sentenced the U.S. citizen Michael Travis Leake to 13 years in jail on drug expenses, in response to worldwide media stories.
Moscow’s Khamovnitchesky Court docket discovered the rock musician and former paratrooper responsible and ordered him to serve the sentence in a maximum-security jail colony, The Moscow Instances reported final week.
Leake was arrested in June of final yr on suspicion of promoting the drug mephedrone, an offense that would have landed him a 20-year jail time period.
Russia’s Interfax information company mentioned on the time that Leake was accused of organizing a drug trafficking enterprise “involving younger individuals.”
Russian court docket officers have recognized Leake as a former paratrooper with the U.S. army. Leake has additionally performed in a number of Russian rock bands, together with the Moscow-based group he fronted, Lovi Noch.
The U.S. State Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for a remark concerning the sentencing.
In a video of Leake that circulated after his arrest final yr, he mentioned he wasn’t admitting any guilt and didn’t know what he was being accused of.
Leake’s mom, Glenda Garcia, advised CNN final yr that she was troubled by her son’s scenario. “In fact, I’m anxious. In fact, I’m involved, ” Garcia mentioned. “He’s in jail out of the country, that could be a concern.”
Additionally final week, a Russian court docket sentenced Wall Avenue Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in jail on espionage expenses, which he denies.
Wall Avenue Journal executives have known as Gershkovich’s conviction a sham, and President Biden says the U.S. is pushing for the American reporter’s launch.
