Who are the Americans jailed in Russia?

LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, sentenced on Friday to 16 years in a Russian prison on spy charges, is one of at least a half dozen Americans convicted and jailed by Russian courts in recent years. He, his newspaper and the U.S. government deny the charges. 

Here is a list of the most prominent cases.

EVAN GERSHKOVICH

A 32-year-old journalist accredited by Russia to work in the country, Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage.

Prosecutors argued that Gershkovich gathered secret information on the orders of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency about a company that manufactures tanks for Russia's war in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to discussing a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich and that there have been contacts with Washington, but the Kremlin says such negotiations must take place in secret.

PAUL WHELAN

A former U.S. marine, Whelan was arrested in 2018 and later handed a 16-year-sentence for espionage.

Russian investigators said the 54-year-old, who was head of global security for a Michigan-based car parts supplier at the time of his arrest, was a spy for military intelligence.

Whelan denies any wrongdoing and Washington has designated him as wrongfully detained, which opens up diplomatic pathways to secure his release.

MICHAEL TRAVIS LEAKE

After Gershkovich, Leake is the American most recently convicted in Russia. The musician and former U.S. paratrooper was sentenced to 13 years in prison for drug smuggling on Thursday.

It was not clear how Leake pleaded to the charges, filed following his arrest in June 2023.

ROBERT ROMANOV WOODLAND

A U.S. citizen adopted from Russia as a child, Woodland had moved back to Russia and was working as an English teacher when he was arrested on charges of attempting to sell drugs.

He was sentenced on July 4 to 12-1/2 years in prison. His lawyer said Woodland had partially admitted guilt.

MARC FOGEL

A schoolteacher and former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Fogel is serving a 14-year sentence for drug smuggling after he was detained at a Moscow airport in August 2021 with 17 grams of marijuana in his luggage.

Fogel, who is in his early 60's, said he uses the drugs for medical reasons.

GORDON BLACK

An active duty U.S. staff sergeant based in South Korea, Black was detained in May in Russia's Far East on suspicion of stealing money from his Russian girlfriend.

A court in June found Black guilty of stealing 10,000 roubles ($113) from the woman and threatening to kill her, sentencing him to three years and nine months in prison.

His lawyer will appeal the verdict.

ROBERT GILMAN

A former U.S. marine, Gilman began serving a 4-1/2 year sentence - later reduced to 3-1/2 years - in October 2022 after he attacked a police officer while drunk.

He told the court he did not remember the incident but had "apologised to Russia" and to the officer.

Prosecutors ordered a new trial for Gilman, which began in June, involving four additional assault charges. He has repeatedly complained of medical problems in prison, including food poisoning, Russian media reported.

EUGENE SPECTOR

Currently serving a 3-1/2-year sentence for bribery, Spector, who was born in Russia and then moved to the U.S., was charged last August with espionage.

Before his arrest in 2021, he served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specialising in cancer-curing drugs, state media said. Spector had pleaded guilty to helping bribe an assistant to an ex-Russian deputy prime minister. It was not clear how he pleaded to the espionage charge.

DAVID BARNES

Barnes was sentenced by a Russian court in February 2024 to 21 years on charges of abusing his two sons in the United States. He had been involved in a custody dispute with his Russian ex-wife.

The allegations had previously been investigated in Texas, where authorities found no grounds to charge him. 

($1 = 88.0000 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)