A Moscow court on Tuesday maintained a 12-and-a-half year prison sentence for a U.S.-Russian male, Robert Woodland, convicted previously this year on drug charges.At an appeal hearing at the Moscow City Court on Tuesday, Judge Irina Khorlina ruled to leave the original sentence the same, an AFP reporter reported from the courtroom.Woodland, 32, participated in the hearing via video link from the detention center where he is being held.
His legal representative, Stanislav Kshevitsky, asked the court to lower the sentence, stating Woodland pleaded partially guilty.Woodland was apprehended in Januaryfor trying to conceal 47 grams of mephedrone.
A judge sentenced him to jail in July.Prosecutors declared the U.S.-Russian male had gotten the drugs from a forest on the borders of Moscow, brought them to his house and repackaged them for sale.
Forests attorney declined those allegations.
Woodland pleaded guilty to belongings of drugs, however rejects distribution.
He is a drug abuser ...
who took from another druggie and wanted to hide them for his own personal use, Kshevitsky told press reporters after the hearing.Woodland was as born in Russia and then adopted by an American family in the early 1990s.
He chose to go back to Russia in 2020 to reconnect with his birth mom, Russian state news agencies reported.His story and psychological reunion was featured on a TV program in Russia.Kshevitsky told reporters after the hearing that Woodland will once again appeal the choice.