INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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
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.
