U.S. citizen Michael Travis Leake was arrested in Moscow and appeared in court on Saturday, the State Department says, becoming the latest American to be detained in Russia.
“We’ve been seeking to learn more about the apparent detention of Travis Leake," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday.Susan Walsh / APWASHINGTON — The State Department said Monday that U.S. officials were able to attend the arraignment Saturday of an American who was detained in Russia and that they are working to determine whether it is a case of wrongful detention., the State Department confirmed, becoming the latest American to have been detained in Russia.
“I am an American citizen from birth. I have been formally accused about nothing. I don’t know why I’m here,” Leake said in the video. “I am not admitting to any guilt, and I do not believe that I have done what I have been accused of, because I don’t know what I’m being accused of.” Leake’s mother, Glenda Garcia, confirmed Monday that she was in contact with the State Department. The Biden administration has yet to say whether it is evaluating Leake’s case as one of wrongful detention.
The State Department has formally declared two other Americans held in Russia, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and businessman Paul Whelan as “wrongfully detained,” which allows its Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to devote even more resources to secure their releases. In the case of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who is also being held in Russia on drug charges, the State Department has yet to come to the same determination.
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