MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has convicted and sentenced an American on charges of illegally transporting weapons, court officials revealed Monday.
Chuck Zimmerman, 58, was handed a 5-year sentence by a court in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi after a firearm was found on his yacht in June, the Krasnodar regional courts’ press service said in a statement. Russian authorities found the weapon while inspecting it upon arrival in Sochi, the statement said.
A website set up in support of Zimmerman describes him as a U.S. Navy veteran, a father of two and an electrician. His family has rejected the charges against him as a “set-up” for a future prisoner exchange.
Court records seen by The Associated Press showed that Zimmerman was convicted in October, and the Sochi court verdict was upheld two months later by the Krasnodar regional court.
Zimmerman told the court that he traveled to Russia to meet a woman he had previously contacted online and that he had the gun for self defense, unaware of Russian laws, according to the court’ press service statement. He has fully admitted guilt, the statement said.
Zimmerman’s sister Robin Stultz said her brother was intercepted while sailing in international waters with “absolutely no intention to enter Russia.”
“He was sailing from the U.S. to New Zealand, so of course he had a firearm on board,” she told the AP in a statement. “You can’t just call 911 if something goes wrong out at sea. He voluntarily disclosed it to them and they charged him with arms smuggling. This is an obvious set-up to get another American they can trade. He needs to be declared wrongfully detained,” Stultz said.
She added: “I wouldn’t trust any ‘confession’ the Russians claim he’s given. He hasn’t been able to meet with anyone from the U.S. Embassy since his arrest.”
There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials.
Zimmerman is one of a few Americans who remain in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges with the United States in recent years. Arrests of Americans in Russia and subsequent prisoner swaps have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington have sunk to Cold War lows.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.