Russia detains US soldier on theft charges. He is in custody until July

A US soldier was detained in Russia on suspicion of theft as Moscow on Tuesday (May 7) said it remanded him in custody until July in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. The soldier was identified as Gordon Black.

The US Army confirmed that the soldier had been detained on criminal charges. It didn't reveal the details. Black's detention adds to the number of US citizens held in Russia.

State-run Ria Novosti news agency reported that "Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok arrested American soldier Gordon Black until July 2 under the 'theft' article" of Russia's criminal code, court spokeswoman Elena Oleneva said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the court said that Black is a Staff Sgt. He was detained in Russia last week and will be held in pre-trial detention. The statement referred only to "US citizen B".

According to the court, Black was charged with "secretly stealing property" of a person referred to as "citizen T," adding that this had caused the alleged victim "significant damage."

Vladivostok city police said they had arrested a 34-year-old foreigner and opened a criminal case over theft causing significant harm to the victim. It is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The suspect is being held in a pre-trial detention centre in the city, the police said, further adding that the man had begun a relationship with a Russian woman while she was working in South Korea.

The police also said that they kept in touch online and he came to visit her on April 10. They had a "conflict" and the man left.

Police tracked him down after the woman found money was missing and called police. The authorities said that he was preparing to fly out to the United States.

Russian newspaper Izvestia reported earlier, citing a source, that the man had stolen 200,000 rubles ($2,200) and beaten the woman up.

According to a Russian foreign ministry representative in Vladivostok, the case was not linked to politics.

The official told TASS state news agency: "This case is not related to politics or espionage. As far as we understand this is a purely domestic crime."

"Therefore the foreign ministry branch in Vladivostok is not following the US citizen's fate closely," the representative added.

(With inputs from agencies)