A Russian court has sentenced a US citizen to 14 years in prison for allegedly smuggling cannabis. According to the BBC, Marc Fogel, in his 60s, used to work as a diplomat at the US embassy in Moscow, but is currently teaching English in the Russian capital.
“American citizen Fogel has been found guilty,” the Russian court statement said. The same note assigns the American professor responsibilities in a “large-scale drug smuggling scheme.”
Fogel was arrested on August 15, 2021 at the Sheremetyevo airport, with 17 grams of cannabis in his luggage. In Russian law, a “large amount” of marijuana is only considered to be from 100 grams.
The former diplomat justified that the drug he was carrying was due to medical reasons, including having a prescription, after having undergone surgery. Fogel said that he did not know that medical marijuana was illegal in Russia. In much of the United States, cannabis use is legal, but this is not the case in Russia.
The BBC, citing the Russian state news agency Intefax, says Marc Fogel has pleaded guilty to narcotics smuggling, storage, transportation and processing.
Marc Fogel was sentenced in the same jurisdiction as the case of basketball player Brittney Griner. The star of the WNBA, the professional women’s league of this sport in the United States, and player of the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on February 17, for allegedly having entered Russia with cannabis oil.
Two days ago, the Khimi court again postponed the trial of the American athlete. Russia’s TASS agency said Griner will remain in detention until at least July 2. Brittney Griner, 31, faces up to ten years in prison in Russia if she is convicted.
This is the second time the American player’s trial has been postponed. On Tuesday it was announced that she should remain in detention for another 18 days “at the request of the investigation”, according to the Russian agency TASS.
Source: Observadora
