A court in Moscow arrested a US citizen for drug possession

The district court in Moscow arrested for two months the Russian-born US citizen Robert Woodland on charges of large-scale drug possession. He faces up to 20 years in prison. The details of the case are not disclosed.

32-year-old Woodland worked as an English teacher in Dolgoprudno near Moscow. He was born in Russia, in 1993 he was adopted by a family of scientists from the USA. Then his name was Roman Romanov. Detdom asked for a bribe of 10,000 dollars for him, he told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

In 2019, Woodland found his biological mother, their meeting was shown on Channel One. After that, he decided to move to Russia. It is unknown whether he retained his Russian citizenship. In court documents, he is also called by his Russian surname.

The arrest decision was made on January 6. However, the press service of the city courts reported about it only today, the first working day in Russia after New Year’s holidays.

• The USA has repeatedly urged its citizens not to travel to Russia and to leave it at the first opportunity. The State Department warns Americans that they may face illegal detentions and arbitrary application of laws. A number of media sources reported that Moscow is planning a prisoner exchange with Washington and may be stockpiling hostages for a more profitable exchange.