{"id":22510,"date":"2022-06-18T09:39:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-18T13:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22510"},"modified":"2022-06-18T09:39:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-18T13:39:44","slug":"russia-sentences-us-teacher-to-14-years-for-cannabis-smuggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/06\/18\/russia-sentences-us-teacher-to-14-years-for-cannabis-smuggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia sentences US teacher to 14 years for cannabis smuggling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Russian court has sentenced a former US diplomat to 14 years in prison for “large-scale” cannabis smuggling.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Marc Fogel had previously worked at the US embassy in Moscow, but was employed as an English teacher in the city at the time of his arrest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fogel was sentenced in the same jurisdiction that is hearing a marijuana-related case against US basketball star Brittney Griner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cannabis is legal in many parts of the US, but remains illegal in Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The American citizen Fogel has been found guilty,” a court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The news release said that the English teacher had committed “large-scale drugs smuggling” in addition to “large-scale illegal storage of drugs without a commercial purpose”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fogel, who is in his 60s, had around 17g (0.6oz) of cannabis in his luggage when he was caught on 15 August 2021 at Sheremetyevo airport, he told lawyers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Local authorities have not commented on the amount of drugs Fogel was carrying, but Russian law defines a “large amount” of marijuana to be at least 100g.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fogel said a doctor had prescribed the drug for medical reasons after he had spinal surgery, and that he was not aware medical marijuana was illegal in Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He pleaded guilty to smuggling, storing, transporting, manufacturing and processing narcotic drugs, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency, and was sentenced to serve his prison term at a maximum security penal colony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As part of the investigation, police released footage of searches conducted by investigators at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where Fogel used to work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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His sentencing comes two days after the Khimki court delayed the trial yet again for Ms Griner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Phoenix Mercury star was detained last February for allegedly carrying cannabis oil into the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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