<p>A Russian court rejected an appeal of a US soldier who was sentenced in June to nearly four years in a penal colony after being found guilty of stealing $113 from his girlfriend and making threats to kill her, the court said on Monday.</p><p>Gordon Black, a 34-year-old US staff sergeant, was detained on May 2 in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/russia">Russia</a>'s far eastern city of Vladivostok after an argument with his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, whom he had met while in South Korea.</p><p>He pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill Vashchuk but admitted he was partially guilty of taking the money, though out of necessity.</p>.Russia to try jailed Kremlin critic Navalny for slander amid EU talks.<p>A panel of judges in the Primorsky Krai Court considered Black's appeal of the verdict from a Vladivostok district court but left it unchanged, the court said in statement in a social media post.</p><p>Black's defence argued in its appeal that the original verdict was illegal and unfair, and asked for a new trial, Russia's RIA state news agency reported earlier.</p><p>According to Black's defence lawyer, the verdict did not rely on case materials, ignored evidence confirming Black's innocence, and incorrectly interpreted his actions towards the victim, RIA reported.</p><p>Black is among a a number of Americans held in Russia on a variety of charges.</p><p>Last week, dual Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after a Russian court found her guilty of treason for donating $51.07 to a charity supporting Ukraine.</p>
<p>A Russian court rejected an appeal of a US soldier who was sentenced in June to nearly four years in a penal colony after being found guilty of stealing $113 from his girlfriend and making threats to kill her, the court said on Monday.</p><p>Gordon Black, a 34-year-old US staff sergeant, was detained on May 2 in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/russia">Russia</a>'s far eastern city of Vladivostok after an argument with his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, whom he had met while in South Korea.</p><p>He pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill Vashchuk but admitted he was partially guilty of taking the money, though out of necessity.</p>.Russia to try jailed Kremlin critic Navalny for slander amid EU talks.<p>A panel of judges in the Primorsky Krai Court considered Black's appeal of the verdict from a Vladivostok district court but left it unchanged, the court said in statement in a social media post.</p><p>Black's defence argued in its appeal that the original verdict was illegal and unfair, and asked for a new trial, Russia's RIA state news agency reported earlier.</p><p>According to Black's defence lawyer, the verdict did not rely on case materials, ignored evidence confirming Black's innocence, and incorrectly interpreted his actions towards the victim, RIA reported.</p><p>Black is among a a number of Americans held in Russia on a variety of charges.</p><p>Last week, dual Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after a Russian court found her guilty of treason for donating $51.07 to a charity supporting Ukraine.</p>