{"id":2271615,"date":"2024-06-19T14:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T18:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-soldier-arrested-in-russia-sentenced-to-almost-four-years-in-prison\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T14:25:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T18:25:40","slug":"us-soldier-arrested-in-russia-sentenced-to-almost-four-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-soldier-arrested-in-russia-sentenced-to-almost-four-years-in-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"US soldier detained in Russia receives nearly four-year prison sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fus-soldier-arrested-in-russia-sentenced-to-almost-four-years-in-prison%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2271615&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, stationed \u200bpreviously with the Eighth \u200cArmy in South Korea, was sentenced to three years and nine months in a Russian\u2063 prison for theft \u200dand threatening murder. The\u200b incident occurred while he was on leave and unlawfully in Vladivostok, Russia, after not returning\u2063 to the\u200c U.S.\u200c as scheduled. Alexandra Vashchuk, identified as Black&#8217;s girlfriend, alleged that he stole approximately $112 and assaulted her. Black confessed to the theft but denied the murder threat. His arrest and sentencing have prompted the U.S. \u2062State Department to\u200d reiterate dire warnings for U.S. citizens regarding the safety risks of staying \u200din \u200cor traveling to Russia, alongside a recommendation from\u200c the Travel Advisory for immediate departure from the country. The\u2062 U.S. government has not \u200bstated whether\u200d Black is\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sec-of-state-blinken-u-s-to-pursue-prisoner-swap-with-russia\/\" title=\"Sec. of State Blinken: U.S. to Pursue Prisoner Swap With Russia\">considered wrongfully detained<\/a>, a status that could engage further diplomatic interventions such as those seen in other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-will-hear-boston-marathon-bomber-execution-case\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Will Hear Boston Marathon Bomber Execution Case\">high-profile cases<\/a> of detained\u2062 Americans in Russia.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/army\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>U.S. Army<\/a> soldier arrested in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Russia<\/a> in May was sentenced to three years and nine months in a Russian prison on charges of theft and threatening murder.<\/p>\n<p>Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/2993091\/us-soldier-detained-russia-alleged-criminal-conduct\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"arrested\">arrested<\/a> May 2, learned his fate Wednesday while he stood inside a glass cage in the district court of Vladivostok, Russia.<\/p>\n<p>He was accused of stealing about $112, about 10,000 rubles, from a woman believed to be his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, and of assaulting her. Black admitted to stealing the money but pleaded not guilty to the death threat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-sends-25-warplanes-into-taiwanese-airspace\/\" title=\"China Sends 25 Warplanes Into Taiwanese Airspace\">state media reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He was most recently assigned to the Eighth Army, U.S. Forces Korea, at Camp Humphreys, Republic of South Korea.\u00a0On April 10, he out-processed from the Eighth Army and signed out on Permanent Change of Station leave for Fort Cavazos, Texas. Instead of returning to the United States, Black flew from Incheon, South Korea, through China to Vladivostok for personal reasons, Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe reiterate our strong warnings about the danger posed to U.S. citizens inside the Russian Federation. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as stated in our Travel Advisory for Russia,\u201d a State Department official told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> when asked about his sentence.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Staff Sgt. Gordon Black is escorted into a glass cage in a courtroom in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, June 6, 2024. Black is on trial in Vladivostok on charges of theft and threatening murder in a dispute with a Russian woman. Black, who was stationed in South Korea but visiting the Pacific Coast city on Monday, June 17, 2024, told a court that he denied the allegation of threatening murder but \u201cpartially\u201d admitted to theft, according to the state news agency RIA-Novosti. (AP Photo, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The department declined to say whether it has determined Black to be wrongfully detained, which is a legal definition that puts the case under the purview of the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs within the department.<\/p>\n<p>There are several Americans currently and previously wrongfully detained in Russia. The Biden administration has agreed to two separate prisoner swaps with Moscow to secure the release of Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, both of whom the administration had determined were the victims of being wrongfully detained.<\/p>\n<p>Paul Whelan was detained in 2018 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges that both he and the U.S. vehemently deny. His brother, David Whelan, said Wednesday marks 2,000 days in Russian detention for Paul and noted his brother has completed about one-third of his sentence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remain grateful for the Ambassador\u2019s support of Paul and our family, but we also made it clear that calling Paul\u2019s case a \u2018priority\u2019 of the White House had caused the word to lose all meaning. Paul\u2019s case does not appear to be a priority,\u201d David said in an email. \u201cOr the people who say it is use that word in a very different way from how it\u2019s defined. This strong consular support, weak White House support hearkens back to Paul\u2019s first 1,000 days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, was arrested last spring in Russia on espionage charges, which he, the paper, and the Biden administration strongly rebutted. He will stand trial in Yekaterinburg, Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Roger Carstens, special presidential envoy for Hostage Affairs, said last week that Gershkovich will likely be moved from Lefortovo, Russia, to Yekaterinburg, more than 800 miles away, before the end of June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s anything like what happened to Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan, Trevor Reed, there\u2019ll be a period when he leaves Lefortovo where we won\u2019t have any contact with him,\u201d Carstens said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated last week that the U.S. had put a \u201csubstantial offer on the table\u201d to secure their release, but Russia declined.<\/p>\n<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted earlier in the year that \u201can agreement can be reached\u201d with the U.S. to release Gershkovich. He referenced Vadim Krasikov, a former Russian colonel who was convicted in 2019 of assassinating a former Chechen fighter in Germany.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, arrested in Russia on May 2, received a three-year, nine-month prison sentence for theft and threatening murder. His sentencing occurred in a Vladivostok district court, where he stood in a glass cage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2671,"featured_media":2271616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24171082138771.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24171082138771.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2271616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}