INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Moscow court lowered the drug trafficking prison sentence for Russian-born U.S
citizen Robert Woodland by 3 years, Reutersreported Tuesday, mentioning his lawyer.Woodland, a dual U.S.-Russian resident who worked as an
English teacher in Moscow, was detained in January 2024 and implicated of illegally getting, keeping, carrying, making and processing 47
grams (1.6 ounces) of mephedrone.A Moscow court sentenced Woodland to 12 years and 6 months in jail last July
A judgerejected an appeal of that sentence in November.On Tuesday, a judge ruled to lower Woodlands sentence to nine years and six months
for an unidentified reason, his legal representative Stanislav Kshevitsky informed Reuters.Woodland is among at least 10 Americans
imprisoned in Russia following a series of U.S.-Russian prisoner swaps dating back to last summer, according to the news agency.The
33-year-old double nationwide was born in the Russian city of Perm
He was adopted by an American family at the age of two, state media reported in 2020
Forest stated he transferred to Russia to discover his birth mother, with whom he was ultimately reunited on Russian state
television.Kshevitsky had actually said that Woodland pleaded guilty to drug possession but denied the circulation charges.He is an addict
who stole from another drug user, the attorney informed press reporters after an appeal hearing last November.
