Authorities in southwestern Russia said Wednesday they have detained a U.S. citizen on criminal charges of assaulting a police officer.
The unnamed 27-year-old American suspect is accused of kicking a police officer “several times” while refusing arrest on suspicion of violating public order on public transport while drunk. The incident was said to have taken place on Jan. 17.
Video shared by the Voronezh region branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee showed police apprehending their suspect and bringing him to court.
A Voronezh court placed him in pre-trial detention, the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement.
The American citizen faces up to five years in Russian prison if found guilty.
The case echoes that of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence on charges of assaulting a Moscow police officer while drunk in 2019.
The U.S. government and Reed deny the charges and have questioned the trial’s fairness.
Russia’s latest arrest of a U.S. citizen also comes at a time of acute tensions over with Washington as it warns that an estimated 100,000 Russian troops could “imminently” invade Ukraine.
The Kremlin denies plans to attack its pro-Western neighbor and accuses the United States of stoking tensions.
