Gordon Black: US soldier sentenced to nearly four years in Russian penal colony, state media report

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A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a US soldier to three years and nine months in a penal colony for theft and death threats, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Staff Sergeant Gordon Black was arrested in May on theft charges in the eastern Soviet city of Vladivostok after traveling there to visit a woman believed to be his girlfriend. He was accused of stealing 10,000 rubles (about $112) from her when he traveled to South Korea in April after meeting her there, state news agency TASS previously reported.

Black was also accused of attacking the woman during an argument.

The US soldier did not admit to the charge that he threatened to kill the woman, but pleaded partially guilty to the theft charges, RIA Novosti previously reported.

Black will appeal the ruling of the court in Vladivostok, his lawyer said on Wednesday, according to TASS.

In the Pervomaisky District Court on Monday, Black said he took the money from the woman’s purse but transferred $125 to her the next day. According to RIA, he said he spent the money on food and three nights in a hotel.

He also said that after the expiration of the lease for the apartment he paid for, the woman would have to demand a deposit of 10,000 rubles from the landlord, RIA reported.

The woman also said in court on Monday that she was not yet ready to reconcile with Black because the damage had not yet been compensated.

Black’s conviction comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Moscow as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rages on. Several Americans are being held in Russia, including two the U.S. State Department has said were wrongfully detained – former Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Gershkovich, 32, will stand trial behind closed doors in the city of Yekaterinburg starting June 26, TASS reported on Monday, citing the court’s press office.

The journalist has been in prison since his arrest by the Russian secret service FSB during a reporting trip in March last year. The FSB accused him of attempting to steal state secrets. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Gershkovich, the US government and the Wall Street Journal have vehemently denied the allegations against him.

The White House had previously claimed that the Kremlin was using Gershkovich – the first American reporter arrested in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War – as a geopolitical hostage.

The US government has repeatedly warned American citizens against traveling to Russia.

This is a developing story and will be updated.