A Moscow court on Monday convicted a U.S. pastor
of smuggling hunting ammunition into Russia and sentenced him to
more than three years in prison.
Phillip Miles, from South Carolina, has been in custody since
his arrest Feb. 3, several days after arriving in Moscow. The court
sentenced him to serve three years and two months in prison, with
the sentence calculated from his detention date.
Miles has said he brought the .300-caliber cartridges for a
friend who had recently bought a Winchester rifle. He said he did
not know bringing such ammunition into Russia was illegal.
Judge Olga Drozdova accepted in her 20-minute summation that
Miles had brought the ammunition for a friend, "as they are both
inveterate hunters."
The 20 cartridges were not initially found when he flew into
Moscow. They were detected later as airport security put his
luggage through an X-ray machine while he was on his way to check
in for a flight to Perm, a city in Siberia.
Miles wore a gray jacket and clerical collar for his sentencing.
"I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of
hunting bullets," he said as court bailiffs led him in handcuffs
from the courtroom cage, where defendants in Russian criminal
courts are held during trial.
His lawyer said the sentence was surprisingly severe.
"I hoped he would only be found guilty of the illegal
possession of ammunition," Vladimir Ryakhovsky said.
He said the conviction for smuggling was unfounded as his client
had acted without any intent to break the law.
An appeal will be filed within 10 days, he said.
Miles, pastor of Christ Community Church in Conway, S.C., seemed
relaxed throughout the judge's summation.
His interpreter struggled to keep up with the judge's delivery
and stopped at various points throughout the sentencing. At one
point, Miles tapped the interpreter's elbow to remind her to
resume.
Miles has said he did not check whether Russian laws differed
from U.S. laws.
But Drozdova said the court could not condone ignorance of
Russian customs regulations and noted Miles had visited the country
more than 10 times.
She also stressed repeatedly that information on baggage
limitations was available in the airport in both English and
Russian.
Ryakhovsky said, however, that leaflets in the airport contained
no specific references to a prohibition on taking cartridges onto
flights.
"The judge's finding on that front was dishonest," he said.
Miles will remain in a Moscow jail until the appeal.