US soldier jailed in Russia ‘was not authorized’ to be there, but went anyway to meet a woman

A United States soldier who was arrested in Russia last week, after reportedly flying there to meet a woman, was in the country without authorisation from the Army.

Staff Sergeant Gordon C Black, 34, was taken into custody on Thursday in Vladivostok, on Russia’s east coast, after travelling from his posting in South Korea.

On Tuesday, the US Army told The Independent that Sgt Black was supposed to be heading back to Fort Cavazos in Texas.

“Black did not request official clearance and DoD did not authorise his travel to China and Russia,” Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said. “Official and leave travel is currently restricted pursuant to the DoD Foreign Clearance Guide.”

Sgt. Black, who enlisted in 2008 and was deployed in Iraq between October 2009 and September 2010, had been assigned to the US Army’s base at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, Ms Smith said.

The soldier, who had also served in Afghanistan between June 2013 and March 2014, was “out-processed” from the camp on 10 April, on “permanent change of station leave”.

Rather than return to Texas as planned, he flew via China to Russia, “for personal reasons”. The spokeswoman said there was “no evidence” he intended to stay beyond his leave period.

In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA), the soldier’s mother Melody Jones said he was visiting his “girlfriend”.

“I told him I was really uncomfortable,” Ms Jones told the show. “I had a bad feeling about him going, but he went anyway.”

Russian authorities detained Sgt Black on 2 May and informed US officials of the arrest the following day.

Officials there said on Tuesday that he was romantically involved with the woman he had gone to meet.

He was charged with “secretly stealing property” of a person referred to as “citizen T”, Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok said, after a 32-year-old woman, whom he had met in South Korea where she was working at the time, filed a complaint against him, according to Russia’s interior ministry.

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

“I knew something was going to happen. I felt like he was being set up by her,” Ms Jones told GMA.

Sgt Black’s mother said Tuesday that she was worried for her son.

“I cry at night. I’m hoping he’s not being tortured or hurt,” she told GMA. “It’s just hard being a mom and being in that situation,” Ms Jones continued. “Not being able to touch him, you know? Hug him and tell him it will be OK.”

Russian authorities said that 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 at a local hotel and purchased airline tickets, intending to flee to his home country. The Russian daily newspaper Izvestia, quoting an unnamed source, said the soldier had stolen 200,000 roubles ($2,196) from her.

Sgt Black is being held in pre-trial detention, the court said in a separate statement, referring only to “US citizen B.”

His detention was to prevent him from evading charges, the court added.

“The court came to the conclusion that US citizen B, under the weight of the charges, in order to avoid responsibility, could hide from the preliminary investigation authorities and the court, thereby preventing the proceedings in the case,” the statement said.

The US Army confirmed that Sgt Black is being held until his next court appearance.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s office in Vladivostok has claimed his arrest has nothing to do with politics, according to state news agency TASS.

“This case has no relation to politics or espionage. As far as we understand, a household crime [is suspected] in this case. That is why the Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission in Vladivostok is not following the case of the US citizen closely,” the mission said.

Several Americans are currently being held in Russian prisons, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed last March, and former marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018. The US government has said both are wrongfully detained.

In late April, Mr Gershkovich was told he would remain in a Russian jail until at least the end of June. He is accused of espionage. Meanwhile, LA woman Ksenia Karelin was arrested on charges of treason in February while visiting family in Russia, after allegedly sending $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity.

WNBA player Brittney Griner was also detained by Russia in early 2022 on drug-related charges. She was released as part of a prisoner swap in December 2022 and has written a book, Coming Home, about her harrowing experiences.