American in Russia Sentenced to 12 Years for Drug Offences

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Above: New Kresty Prison in Kolpino, Russia Image copyright: Mike1979 Russia via Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

  • Robert Woodland, an American citizen who has been detained in Moscow since January on charges of trying to sell methadone, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years at a maximum security penal colony on Thursday.

  • A dual Russia-US national, Woodland moved back to the country of his birth in 2020 after tracking down his biological mother, having been mostly raised in America by foster parents. Woodland is one of several Americans currently detained in Russia.

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The Spin

Anti-Russia narrative

Russia has been shamelessly practicing "hostage diplomacy" against the US, as they detain Americans under dubious circumstances to coerce concessions from the government. Foreign citizens are valuable pawns, and are wrongfully convicted for leverage against governments that care about their people. Russia has been all too willing to employ this repugnant strategy, and every conviction in a Russian court against a US citizen must be taken with a grain of salt.

Wall Street Journal

Pro-Russia narrative

Claims that Russia has acted uniquely punitively towards Americans accused of crimes are unfounded. All foreign nationals are ineligible for bail, for instance, and the sentencing guidelines for drug offenses in Russia are roughly equivalent to those in several US states. Wrongful detention is a vague, ambiguous term that is used by the US to beat the war drum against their enemies. They should accept the Russian legal process as thorough and impartial.

Opinio Juris

Metaculus Prediction

Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO