American man handed a 6-year prison sentence in Russia for trying to take his son abroad

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has handed a six-year prison sentence to an American man convicted on charges linked to his attempt to illegally take his 4-year old son out of Russia. The court in Russia’s westernmost Kaliningrad region said Monday that the convict, whose name wasn’t given, visited Kaliningrad in July 2023 to meet with his Russian-born son and attempted to drive him out of the country. The boy’s mother didn’t give her consent for that, it said in a statement. The case comes as Russia-U.S. ties are at the lowest level since the Cold War times over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Several Americans are serving sentences in Russia on drug, theft or assault convictions.