.A previous U.S. paratrooper and also rock artist apprehended in Russia more than a year back on medication costs was sentenced to thirteen years behind bars on Thursday, the Moscow court unit's media company pointed out.Michael Travis Leake, who overlooked the Moscow-based rock band Lovi Noch, was detained in June 2023 after district attorneys accused him of "arranging a medicine handling company involving youngsters.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Court found him guilty of unlawful acts linked to the purchase of illegal anesthetics, the courthouse's media company stated in an article on Telegram. He was actually sentenced to thirteen years in a maximum-security penitentiary colony.Leake was actually imprisoned along with Veronika Grabanchuk, yet another defendant sentenced of medication fees. Her relation to Leake was certainly not instantly very clear.Arrests of U.S. people in Russia have actually raised over the last few years, in what Washington views as a Kremlin tactic to get the launch of Russians convicted abroad.Among other United States people held in Russian prisons are past marines Robert Gilman and also Paul Whelan, in addition to writers Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.