Russia Detains 2 US Nationals, Including a Serving Soldier

Russian authorities have detained two U.S. nationals, including a serving U.S. soldier, in two separate cases, the Interior Ministry and Moscow's court service said on Tuesday.

The soldier, detained on Monday on charges of criminal misconduct, was arrested on theft charges by a court in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, the regional office of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The U.S. Army, which said on Monday it had been informed about the detention, has not named the soldier.

The Interior Ministry did not identify the accused as a soldier and did not name him or specify his nationality, but gave his age as 34.

Citing the court's press office, the RIA state news agency said that the soldier, whom the court identified as Gordon Black, is to be detained until July 2.

The Ministry said a 32-year-old woman had filed a complaint against the man, whom she had met in South Korea, where she was working at the time.

The two began a relationship, and after the woman returned to Vladivostok the man came to visit her, arriving on April 10, the statement said, saying the couple later had an argument.

After the man left, the woman discovered an undisclosed sum of money was missing and filed a police report. The statement said the man had been arrested in a local hotel and had purchased airline tickets, intending to flee to his home country.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the soldier had been based in South Korea.

The Russian daily Izvestia, quoting an unnamed source, said the soldier had stolen 200,000 roubles ($2,196) from her.

Reuters could not independently verify the Izvestia report.

Separately, Moscow's court service said on Tuesday that a court had remanded a U.S. citizen whom it named as William Russell Nycum in custody for 10 days for "petty hooliganism."

It said he had been found naked outside after drinking alcohol in an incident it said "expressed obvious disrespect to society, citizens and public order."

When contacted by Reuters on Tuesday about the detention of the two U.S. nationals, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Moscow said:

"We are aware of reports of U.S. citizens being arrested inside of Russia... Consular officers from the embassy always seek to aid citizens with appropriate assistance but due to privacy concerns we aren't able to comment further."

($1 = 91.0730 roubles)