Russia confirms that US soldier Gordon Black, arrested on theft charges, will be held until July

A Russian court confirmed on Tuesday that a US soldier would remain in custody for at least two months after his arrest on theft charges.

“The Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok detained American soldier Gordon Black until July 2 under the ‘theft’ article” of the Russian Criminal Code, court spokeswoman Elena Oleneva said in a statement.

Black, a staff sergeant, was arrested in Russia last week and will remain in custody, the court said in a separate statement, referring only to “U.S. Citizen B.”

The court said Black was charged with “secret theft of property” from a person referred to as “Citizen T”, adding that this caused “significant harm” to the alleged victim.

The court explained that his detention was intended to prevent him from evading charges.

“The court came to the conclusion that the US citizen B., under the burden of the accusation, could hide from the investigative authorities and the court in order to avoid responsibility and thus prevent the proceedings in the case,” it says the declaration.

NBC News announced Monday that the soldier was arrested after traveling from his station in South Korea to the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

He was traveling home to the United States and stopped in Russia to meet a woman with whom he was romantically involved, officials said.

Black was arrested on Thursday, a US Army spokesman said on Monday.

State news agency TASS reported on Tuesday that the Russian Foreign Ministry’s office in Vladivostok said his detention had nothing to do with politics.

“This case has no connection to politics or espionage. As far as we know, this case is a domestic crime. Therefore, the Russian Foreign Ministry mission in Vladivostok is not closely following the case of the US citizen,” the mission said, according to TASS.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Monday he was “deeply concerned” by the news. He said on X that the detention was “a warning to all Americans – as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.”

The current travel advisories from the US State Department advise against all travel to Russia.

There are several other Americans held in Russian prisons, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed last March, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018. The U.S. government has said both are wrongfully imprisoned.

The Associated Press reported that the arrest of U.S. citizens in Russia had reached Cold War levels.