US soldier jailed in Russia loses sentence appeal

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US soldier jailed in Russia loses sentence appeal

A US soldier who was sentenced in June to nearly four years in a Russian penal colony after being found guilty of stealing $US113 from his girlfriend and making threats to ***** her, has lost his court appeal, RIA agency reports.

Gordon ******, a 34-year-old US staff sergeant, was detained on May 2 in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok after an argument with his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, whom he had met while in South Korea.

He pleaded not guilty to threatening to ***** Vashchuk but admitted he was partially guilty of taking the money, though out of necessity.

******’s defence argued in its appeal that the original verdict was ******** and unfair, and asked for a new trial, RIA reported.

According to ******’s defence lawyer, the verdict did not rely on case materials, ignored evidence confirming ******’s innocence, and incorrectly interpreted his actions towards the victim, RIA reported.

However, Judge Irina Balashova of the Primorsky Regional Court in Russia’s far east dismissed his appeal.

“Leave the verdict unchanged and dismiss the appeal,” said Balashova, according to RIA.

****** is among a group of Americans held in Russia on a variety of charges. Last week, dual Russian-********* citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in prison after a Russian court found her guilty of treason for donating $US51.07 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

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