Russia sentences US national Leake to 13 years in jail for drug smuggling

It was not clear how he pleaded and Reuters was not able to contact his lawyer.

Leake is one of about a dozen Americans currently held in Russian detention. Washington urges its citizens to leave Russia immediately, citing the threat of arrest and harassment amid the highest tensions between the two countries since the Cold War.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow did not immediately reply to a request for comment on his conviction.

Another American, Robert Romanov Woodland, was sentenced by a Russian court to 12-1/2 years for drug smuggling earlier this month.

Leake was convicted alongside another defendant, a woman. The pair were shown standing in a court cage in brief videos published by the court service. He listened to the proceedings with a grim expression, at one point shaking his head.

Leake, who is in his early 50’s, is a former songwriter in the rock band “Lovi Noch” (“Catch the night”). He also previously worked as an English teacher in Moscow and helped translate songs for Russian bands.

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