Moscow court confirms 12.5-year prison sentence for American-Russian man on drug charges

A Moscow court on Tuesday confirmed a 12-and-a-half-year prison sentence for American-Russian man Robert Woodland, who was convicted of drug offenses earlier this year.

At an appeal hearing in Moscow City Court on Tuesday, Judge Irina Khorlina decided to leave the original verdict “unchanged,” an AFP journalist reported from the courtroom.

Woodland, 32, attended the hearing via video feed from the detention center where he is being held. His lawyer, Stanislav Kshevitsky, asked the court to reduce the sentence, saying Woodland had pleaded guilty in part.

Woodland was arrested in January for attempting to hide 47 grams of mephedrone. A judge sentenced him to prison in July.

Prosecutors alleged the American-Russian man picked up the drugs from a forest on the outskirts of Moscow, brought them to his apartment and repackaged them for sale. Woodland’s attorney denied these allegations.

“Woodland pleaded guilty to possession of drugs but denied distribution. He is a drug addict … he stole from another drug addict and wanted to hide the drugs for his personal use,” Kshevitsky told reporters after the hearing.

Woodland was born in Russia and adopted by an American family in the early 1990s. He decided to return to Russia in 2020 to reconnect with his birth mother, Russian state news agencies reported.

His story and emotional reunion were featured on a TV show in Russia.

Kshevitsky told reporters after the hearing that Woodland would appeal the decision again.