U.S. Citizen Joseph Tater's Appeal Denied by Russian Court

A Russian court denied U.S. citizen Joseph Tater's appeal against his arrest for assaulting a police officer. Detained in August for alleged hooliganism, he faced a fresh criminal case for the assault, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. Tater is among ten Americans jailed in Russia.

A Russian court on Thursday denied an appeal from U.S. citizen Joseph Tater against his arrest for assaulting a police officer, according to a statement from Moscow's city court. Tater was originally detained in August and sentenced to 15 days in jail for petty hooliganism related to allegations of abusing hotel staff in Moscow, which he denied.

The Interfax news agency reported that Tater subsequently assaulted a police officer, prompting a new criminal case against him. The assault charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years. It remains unclear how Tater pleaded to the assault charge, and Reuters was unable to reach his lawyer for comment.

Tater is one of at least ten Americans currently incarcerated in Russia. Earlier this week, a court in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad sentenced American Daniel Joseph Schneider to six years in prison for kidnapping his own son and attempting to exit Russia with the child through Poland.