Topline
A U.S. citizen was detained earlier this week after he allegedly assaulted a law enforcement official in Moscow, Russian officials said Wednesday, the latest American detained in Russia in recent years—following a major prisoner swap earlier this month.
Key Facts
An American man—who was not named—was detained in Moscow “in connection with his hooliganism” on Aug. 12, according to a statement by Russia’s Investigative Committee obtained by Agence France Presse.
The man refused to provide his “identity documents” before he allegedly “used violence against a law enforcement officer,” the committee said.
Charges have not been filed against the man, whom investigators said they will ask to be held in custody until a trial, and he reportedly faces up to five years in prison.
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Tangent
Other American citizens are being held in Russian prisons, though the overall number is not known. Musician Travis Leake was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison last month. Russian-American Ksenia Karelina pleaded guilty to treason earlier this month, according to the Russian state-run outlet Tass, after she allegedly donated $51.80 to a pro-Ukraine charity. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, who left his unit in South Korea for Russia without authorization, was sentenced to 45 months in prison earlier this year for allegedly stealing from and making threats against his girlfriend. Marc Fogel, an American teacher from Pennsylvania, was arrested on drug charges in 2022 and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Key Background
The U.S. has accused Russia of using American citizens as bargaining chips in possible prisoner swaps, though Russia has maintained those arrested had broken the law. Both countries carried out a 26-person prisoner swap earlier this month in a deal that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, both of whom the U.S. had declared wrongfully detained. Russia also released 14 others from Russian jails. Other Americans have been released in recent prisoner swaps, including Trevor Reed, a former marine arrested for violence against a police officer, who returned to the U.S. in 2022 and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout later that year.
