Russia|The United States suspects that Russia is imprisoning its citizens in hopes of freeing Russians convicted in the United States in a prisoner exchange.
Former A US Army paratrooper and current musician has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for drug offenses in Russia, the news agencies AFP and Reuters report.
US citizen Michael Travis Leake was arrested in Russia more than a year ago. He was accused of running a drug trade. According to the prosecutors, young people were also involved in the drug trade.
A Moscow court sentenced him to a high-security prison for selling drugs on a large scale.
in Russia there are ten US citizens in prison. The United States has urged its citizens to leave Russia because they face arrests and harassment due to the cold relations between the two countries.
The United States suspects that Russia is imprisoning its citizens in hopes that the United States would release Russians convicted in the United States in a prisoner exchange.
Among other things, the editor of The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich suspected in Russia of espionage on trumped-up charges. He could face a sentence of up to 20 years.
Now the convicted Leake is not a particularly well-known figure, described, among other things, by the US media ABC News last year. He has been the singer of the Moscow rock band Lovi Nochi (Finnish: Tartu yöhö).
Leake has lived in Russia for several years and also worked as an English teacher.
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