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By Joe Edwards
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An American musician has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Russia on drug charges, according to reports.
Michael Travis Leake, who is also a former paratrooper, was accused of organizing a drug trafficking business involving young people, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. Leake was arrested in Moscow last year.
A second defendant, Veronika Grabanchuk, was also found guilty, reports said.
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Newsweek has contacted the U.S. State Department and the Russian government for comment.
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Leake, who was 51 at the time of his arrest and has lived in Russia for many years, has vehemently denied the charges against him.
The ex-paratrooper previously worked as an English teacher and musician in Russia, and has been involved in the country's rock scene, fronting the band Lovi Noch and collaborating with notable Russian rock groups.
His involvement in the music scene was highlighted in a 2014 episode of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," where he discussed political censorship in Russia.
Videos previously published by Russian state media depicted Leake saying: "I don't know why I am here."
"I am not admitting to any guilt and I do not believe that I have done what I have been accused [of] because I don't know what I've been accused of," Leake told the camera in the footage.
At the time of Leake's arrest it was reported that Russian authorities said they found "drug packages" on his person.
Leake is one of many Americans to have been detained in Russia in recent years.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 on charges of espionage, charges which have been denied by both the U.S. Government and the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. government considers Gershkovich to be "wrongly detained."
"This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man," WSJ editor in chief Emma Tucker previously said in an open letter.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since 2018. In 2020 he was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Both the U.S. government and Whelan himself maintain his innocence, stating that he was in Russia for a wedding when he was arrested.
Dual Russian-U.S. citizen and journalist Allsu Kurmasheva was detained in May, accused of failing to register as a foreign agent, a charge often levied against journalists and non-governmental organizations in Russia.
Update 07/18/24, 07:53 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 07/18/24, 08:32 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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