Russia has arrested another US national, an arrest that comes shortly after the arrest of an American soldier. The man, who is identified by Russian news reports as William Russell Nycum, was arrested on “petty hooliganism” charges and sentenced to 10 days in jail. The reports say that Nycum, an English language tutor, became intoxicated, and broke into the window of a children’s library in Moscow where he fell asleep.
In sentencing Nycum, a Moscow court said that he had been found naked in the outside courtyard before he broke into the children’s library. The court service described the incident as one which “expressed obvious disrespect to society, citizens, and public order,” Reuters reported before sentencing him.
There has been no comment by US authorities regarding the sentence.
Though Nycum’s arrest is not believed to be linked to any serious crime, his arrest will further already tense relations between the US and Russia. Russia has recently arrested an American soldier, and local reports suggest that he will be jailed for two months.
The Russian newspaper Izvestia said that the man who was a South Korea-based Army sergeant met a woman from Russia’s far eastern port of Vladivostok on the Internet. Izvestia reported that the couple lived together for a time. But he beat her and stole 200,000 roubles ($2,200) from her. After the filing of charges, he was arrested and has been put in jail.
.Cynthia Smith, Army spokeswoman, confirmed that a soldier was detained in Vladivostok on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the US and the Army told the soldier’s family.
Russia already has a number of American detainees in its custody. The most prominent among them was US female basketball player Britney Griner, who was arrested in August 2022 for smuggling drugs into Russia. She was later released in a swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
(Reuters and other agencies)
