Russian court sentences US citizen to 15 days in prison for attacking police officers

CNN
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A US citizen has been sentenced to 15 days in a Russian prison for “petty hooliganism” after attacking a police officer, a Moscow court said.

The American, identified as Joseph Tater, was sentenced to an “administrative penalty in the form of administrative detention for a period of 15 days” by Moscow’s Meshchansky Court on Wednesday, according to a post on the official Telegram channel of Moscow’s city courts of general jurisdiction.

Tater was found guilty of disturbing the peace following earlier reports of police arresting a foreign national who violated public order while staying at a Moscow hotel, Russian state media TASS reported.

“He behaved aggressively, swore and used swear words,” TASS reported, citing the court’s press office, adding that Tater “had a [female] Policeman” during his investigation in custody.

Criminal proceedings will also be initiated against Tater for using violence against a government official, TASS reported. The American could also face a prison sentence of up to five years.

CNN has asked the US State Department and the US Embassy in Moscow for comment.

Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the authorities were When asked about Tater during a press conference on Wednesday, he said he was “aware of reports of the arrest of another American citizen in Russia.”

“We are working to get as much information as possible, determine the consular situation and see if consular access is possible,” Patel said, without giving further details.

Several US citizens are serving prison sentences in Russia for drug offenses or theft. Among them is Marc Fogel, who was convicted in Russia of illegal cannabis possession.

Fogel, who worked as a teacher in Moscow, was arrested in 2021 on drug charges after entering the country with cannabis and sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in Russia. His family and lawyer said he had it with him for medicinal purposes as a doctor had prescribed it to treat “severe back pain.”

Fogel was not part of the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War earlier this month. The historic swap saw the release of 24 prisoners, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and one of President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics, was also released.

TASS also reported that Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American citizen, pleaded guilty to treason in a Russian court after she was previously arrested for donating $51.80 to a charity that provides humanitarian aid to people affected by the war in Ukraine.

Karelina, 33, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February while visiting her grandparents.