Russia: American sentenced to six years in prison for attempted kidnapping of his son

An American was sentenced to court in six years in prison for his son’s, amid tensions between Moscow and Washington. Specifically the Kaliningrad court – the Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania – sentenced the American to six years in prison for the attempted kidnapping, which he will serve in a prison colony, reports a relevant announcement on Telegram. To the American, whose identity has not been revealed, “a fine of 100,000 rubles was also imposed” (p. approximately 1,000 euros), the court’s decision says. According to the case-file, the defendant reunited with his four-year-old son – who has Russian citizenship – in July 2023 in Kaliningrad’s enclave, in order to take him away from Russian territory. Two days later, “without mother’s consent”, he tried to cross the border with Poland, “crossing forests and swamps”, before being arrested by Russian border guards. In recent years, several Westerners – particularly Americans – have been arrested in Russia and serious charges have been filed against them, with Washington talking about hostage cases aimed at exchanging Russian prisoners abroad. On August 1, the largest exchange of prisoners between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War, in which Moscow released American journalist Evan Gershkovic and also American, former Marine, Paul Willan. Relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated significantly since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022. Since then, the White House has been supporting Kiev militarily and financially.