US rock band manager Travis Leake sentenced to 13 years in Russian penal colony, following drug charges

CNN — American citizen Travis Leake has been sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony in Russia, state media RIA Novosti reported Thursday, after he was detained on drug charges last year.

A Moscow court had accused the “former paratrooper and musician” of engaging in a narcotics business, according to RIA. Leake pleaded not guilty to the charges, Russian state media TASS said.

“I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t admit guilt, I don’t believe I could have done what I’m accused of because I don’t know what I’m accused of,” Leake reportedly said in his statement to police when he was arrested in June 2023, per tabloid outlet Ren TV.

His sentencing comes as diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow are at a historic low, with Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine raging on. Leake is one of at least a dozen US citizens and dual nationals currently being detained in Russia, including Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in the country since the Cold War.