Russia After arrest in Moscow: 15 days in prison for US citizen

A US citizen arrested after allegedly rioting in a hotel has been sentenced to 15 days in prison by the Russian judiciary. According to a report by the state agency Tass, the competent court in the Russian capital announced that he would have to serve the sentence in a Moscow prison. Accordingly, August 12 was set as the start of the prison term. According to the report, however, there are also other criminal proceedings against the man for a violent attack on a policewoman - an offense that could be punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to the Russian security authorities, the police were called to a Moscow hotel because the American was allegedly behaving aggressively and hurling insults. He ignored the officers' requests to calm down, which is why he was eventually arrested. At the police station, he then punched a policewoman, a police spokesman said. The man's exact age was not given, but his year of birth was given as 1978.

The US government reacted cautiously to the case. "We are aware of reports of another American arrested in Russia and we are trying to get as much information as we can," said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. It is still unclear whether access to the man can be gained through consular channels. He did not want to take part in further speculation, Patel said.

The US government is urging Americans not to travel to Russia. Russia has a reputation for repeatedly sentencing US citizens to long prison sentences in order to exchange them as bargaining chips for imprisoned compatriots abroad. Earlier this month, several Americans were released from Russian custody in a large-scale prisoner exchange in return for Russian agents from prisons in Western countries.