US Citizen Robert Woodland Sentenced to 12.5 Years in Russian Prison on Drug Charges

Woodland, who holds dual citizenship, was convicted of attempting to sell drugs as part of an organized crime group.

Robert Woodland, 32, was arrested in Moscow in January and found guilty of trafficking large quantities of illegal drugs.
Woodland's lawyer stated he partially confessed to the charges but plans to appeal the verdict.
The US State Department has warned Americans against traveling to Russia due to risks of wrongful detention.
Woodland's case is part of a broader pattern of increasing detentions of US citizens in Russia amidst deteriorating US-Russia relations.
Woodland had returned to Russia in 2020 to find his birth mother, a journey documented on Russian TV.