.A former united state paratrooper and stone musician confined in Russia more than a year back on medicine fees was punished to 13 years in prison on Thursday, the Moscow court system's media solution pointed out.Michael Travis Leake, who faced the Moscow-based stone band Lovi Noch, was actually detained in June 2023 after prosecutors charged him of "organizing a drug dealing business including young people.".Moscow's Khamovnitchesky Courtroom found him responsible of unlawful acts linked to the purchase of prohibited drugs, the court's press solution said in a message on Telegram. He was actually sentenced to thirteen years in a maximum-security prison nest.Leake was actually jailed along with Veronika Grabanchuk, yet another offender founded guilty of medication costs. Her connection to Leake was not quickly crystal clear.Arrests of united state residents in Russia have actually raised lately, in what Washington sees as a Kremlin ploy to protect the launch of Russians pronounced guilty abroad.And many more United States citizens composed Russian prisons are previous marines Robert Gilman and Paul Whelan, in addition to writers Evan Gershkovich as well as Alsu Kurmasheva.