Russia's Primorsky Regional Court Upholds Sentence of US Soldier Black
VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) - Russia's Primorsky Regional Court rejected the appeal of defense of US soldier Gordon Black, who was sentenced in Vladivostok to 3 years and 9 months in prison for murder threats and theft; the sentence was upheld, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom.
Black’s lawyer Inna Kirichenko stated at the court hearing that the defense had not agreed with the sentence, considering it illegal and unfair, and asked that Black’s criminal case be sent for a new trial. According to the defense, the trial court issued the sentence without relying on the case materials, ignoring a number of pieces of evidence confirming Black’s innocence, and incorrectly interpreted his actions towards the victim.
The prosecutor's office representative Anastasia Yaroshenko reported that the trial court's verdict was fair and based on the case materials. According to the prosecution representative, the court correctly classified Black's actions on both counts of the charge, the punishment was imposed correctly, and there are no grounds for mitigating it. She asked that the court's verdict be left unchanged and the appeal be dismissed.
"The verdict be left unchanged and the appeal be dismissed," Judge Irina Balashova read out the decision.
In June, the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok sentenced Black to 3 years and 9 months in a general regime penal colony in the case of threatening to kill his girlfriend, with whom he lived with in Vladivostok, and stealing 10,000 rubles ($113) from her. Before that, the defense asked to acquit him of all charges. Black himself stated that he fully supported the defense's position and refused to give his final statement. The prosecutor asked to sentence the defendant to 4 years and 8 months in a penal colony.
According to the prosecution, Black, came to Vladivostok in April to visit a girl after meeting her in Korea. During an argument he "grabbed the girl by the neck by force, which she perceived as a real threat to her life," then stole 10,000 rubles from her wallet. The soldier, according to NBC News, was serving as part of the US contingent in South Korea and traveled to Russia on his own initiative.
