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Russia has confirmed the release of an American citizen who was recently detained in Moscow on drug charges.
Some shit you should know before you read: Since the war kicked off in Ukraine, there has been a notable uptick in Americans being detained by Russia, often on charges related to possessing marijuana or cannabis-infused products. Russian law strictly prohibits cannabis in any form, and possession of even small amounts can lead to severe penalties, including lengthy prison sentences for drug smuggling. High-profile cases include WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for carrying cannabis oil before being exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in late 2022. More recently, American teacher Marc Fogel, who was arrested in 2021 for possessing medical marijuana prescribed for chronic pain, was released last week after spending over three years in a Russian labor camp as part of a swap for Russian money launderer Alexander Vinnik. These detentions are widely seen as politically motivated, with Russia using them as leverage in diplomatic negotiations, a pattern that continues amid ongoing tensions with the United States.
What’s going on now: In an announcement, the US confirmed that Kalob Wayne Byers, a 28-year-old American citizen, had been released from Russian custody after being detained on drug charges. Byers was arrested on February 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials found cannabis-laced gummies, described by Russian authorities as a “significant amount,” in his luggage. He had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancée, Naida Mambetova, who was also taken into custody on similar charges. Byers spent about ten days in detention before being handed over to US officials at the American Embassy in Moscow.
While Byers was released, the status of Mambetova remains unclear. Russian media reports indicate that she was placed in pretrial detention, but there has been no confirmation of whether she has been freed or is still facing prosecution.
The Kremlin linked Byers’ release to broader diplomatic considerations, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that “certain events can be viewed in the context” of improving US-Russia relations. His release came just before high-level talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia, raising speculation about whether it was part of a larger diplomatic effort.
