.A previous united state paratrooper and also rock performer restrained in Russia greater than a year ago on medicine fees was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thursday, the Moscow court of law body's press company mentioned.Michael Travis Leake, who fronted the Moscow-based rock band Lovi Noch, was confined in June 2023 after prosecutors indicted him of "coordinating a medicine handling company involving youths.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Courthouse located him responsible of criminal offenses connected to the purchase of illegal anesthetics, the courthouse's media solution mentioned in a message on Telegram. He was penalized to thirteen years in a maximum-security jail nest.Leake was jailed alongside Veronika Grabanchuk, another accused founded guilty of drug fees. Her connection to Leake was actually certainly not instantly very clear.Arrests of U.S. citizens in Russia have enhanced recently, in what Washington views as a Kremlin ploy to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.Among other United States citizens held in Russian jails are past marines Robert Gilman and also Paul Whelan, along with journalists Evan Gershkovich as well as Alsu Kurmasheva.