U.S. CITIZEN TO SPEND 5 YEARS IN FOREIGN PRISON!

Bob, you don't seem to understand that the underground, unregistered church of the former USSR has always operated in this manner. At the moment, I can't access the link cited in the root post. So, I can't parse the situation out. But, knowing how the russian system works, he could have been legal when he left NY and illegal when he hit customs in Moscow. It all depends on how the powers that be are enforcing "the law" on whom at what time.

 

Okay, here are the pertinent parts of the story:

At least according to the information give, I don't see how Andrei Vladimirovch could be considered lawbreaker

The key is sentence I highlighted. He didn't break any laws. He just wasn't willing to pay for the new roof on some customs official's dacha. I assume he started through normally but when it came time to declare his baggage and property. He declared the amount of money he was bringing into the country. At which point, an "import duty" was declared on the amount (not that any of it would see the inside of the Russian State Treasury).

 

Here is the story from the Harvard Crimson. I'll take it as a fairly unbiased source. Unless you count an undieing hatred of Yale as a bias.

 

According to The Moscow Times, in today's hearing, the prosecution asked for a six month suspended sentence for Brother Andrew. The final verdict will be handed down when the court reconvenes on Friday.

 

The latest and greatest from The Harvard Crimson.

 

The verdict's in.
Found: Guilty of smuggling.
Sentenced to: Six months suspended sentence; Forfeiture of the funds (the really bad news)
Appeal filled with the Moscow City Court.

 

Here is the AP story from the Guardian in London, England. From doing a google news search (search term: okhotin), the AP story has been picked up by 20 newspapers here in the States plus the Guardian.

 

Russian Kangaroo Court Convicts American Missionaryfrom Christianity Today. This pretty much tells the story. Yes, young Andrew went down the wrong corridor. Problably, he expected the customs officials to act as if they had integrity. Personally, I blame the whole matter on the Stateside people who flunked the "The Transportation of Funds Across International Borders" section of Sum101. All the folks Stateside had to do was send six people over to Moscow with 8,000 USD each. That is way under the 10K declaration limit. And even if there was a beef, only 8k would have been lost. This is what you get for not remembering our Lord's command to be "wise as a serpent yet harmless as a dove."